


Last and First

by BlueRaith



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, F/M, Missing Scenes, One Shot Collection, Raava Narrating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-04-05
Packaged: 2018-03-08 11:25:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 36,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3207443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueRaith/pseuds/BlueRaith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raava never could have foreseen the events of this Avatar Cycle, or that she would lose so much. However, Korra will end up teaching her that much can be gained through loss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Water

**Water**

Raava was never certain just who the next life of Wan was going to be. She was well aware of the Avatar Cycle, as it has come to be named, but she always looked forward to knowing each and every one of her new partners in Peace and Balance. They were all similar, yet unique in their own personalities. Aspects of Wan always bled into each life, but every one of them were inevitably shaped by their experiences and companions as they lived. Ever since she first traveled with Wan and fused with him forevermore, she grew to appreciate and love humanity and its potential for all that was good. Wan had taught her of humanity's bravery, selflessness, compassion and more. They traveled the world and time to teach Wan's people and her fellow spirits peace and balance in the hopes of keeping Darkness away forever, even if they couldn't vanquish it entirely.

But with each reincarnation of her dearest friend, the Avatar slowly forgot their connection and friendship with Raava until it was only Wan and his successors that could give guidance to each Avatar and she could only watch and aid her friend in times of great need. No longer could they speak to one another until the Avatar passed into the next and regained their connection to her and even then the Avatar was unable to pass the knowledge on. Raava, and Wan himself, had passed into legend; incomprehensible to anyone. A story that held little meaning besides its entertainment value. The Avatar could not reconnect with their first life, the distance was too great and thus the meaning and emotion of their friendship with Raava was lost forever. Eventually, Raava accepted her separation with her living friend and grew content with simply watching their efforts. She and Wan's lives eventually gave up passing the legend. But, she was always ready to intervene when the Avatar unconsciously called upon her. She and all of Wan's past lives would always come to the Avatar's aid. She had made a promise to Wan and she intended to keep it through all his lives. He was her family and their mission was one they both believed in. Her oldest friend's spirit was a near mirror of Raava and he carried a desire for peace and balance through death itself. She would always remember that.

Through time, her family grew. Each lived up to their ultimate mission and they, along with Raava's occasional help, lived as the bridge between the human and spirit world. They kept darkness at bay and at a minimum, sometimes through her friend's ultimate sacrifice. Roku was one such reincarnation and Raava as well as Wan and the others had believed that his tragic ending was going to be the world's darkest time since the last Harmonic Convergence. Aang's efforts were greater than any Avatar before him since Wan. Perseverance and determination defined the boy and he was able to restore balance against humanity's darkest threat in millenia.

Aang's time as the Avatar had passed, however. Raava was hoping that the next Avatar would be born in a far more peaceful world after Aang's enormous efforts. Her past two friends lived in very difficult times. Being the Avatar was never easy or simple, but she never enjoyed it when her Avatars suffered as greatly as Roku and Aang did. Sometimes she wondered if Vaatu could reach through his prison. Betrayal and genocide were _his_ instruments.

Sadly, she never could have foreseen the threats the newest Avatar was destined to face.

* * *

Korra was... different than her past lives. Raava had not seen such a precocious child in a very long time. She had Aang's playfulness, that much was certain, but she was far more fiery than her predecessor. She was no gentle, patient monk, which could be expected. The people of the Southern Water Tribe were warriors that had survived the worst the world could throw at them. Proud, stubborn and adaptable, their culture would define Korra for the rest of her life. Something Raava always found rather fascinating about her friends. The cultures that raised them always brought out different aspects of Wan as well as birthing personalities that were of their own. Korra seemed to fit her people perfectly. Always acting and reacting on their own terms. One could not stop a flood when it was determined to leave its banks, just as the Avatar would not keep to tradition forever. The monks had decided to inform Aang of his destiny early to suit their own purposes (a fortuitous stroke of luck that turned out to be), Korra revealed her own abilities through sheer strength of will.

It started innocently enough. Korra was a very competitive person, she hated losing more than anything else (something that she likely got from Wan and his determination to defeat Vaatu at the very beginning) and she was raised on stories from her past lives, as many children are throughout the physical world.

“I'm the Avatar! You gotta deal with it!” Korra declared angrily at a Water Tribe boy she was playing with. They had been fighting over who would be playing Aang in some make believe reenactment of his life.

“You aren't even a boy, you can't be Avatar Aang!” He cried back. “Why don't you be Master Katara?”

“Yeah? You aren't bald,” Korra shot back with as much smugness a four year old could muster. “I'm the Avatar!”

“But you aren't a boy!” He repeated. The poor child seemed absolutely flummoxed that Korra would want to play the Avatar. “Besides, Master Katara is cool and she's a waterbender like us.”

“I _am_ the Avatar.”

Later, Raava felt she should have anticipated what happened next, but regardless it came as a severe surprise. Korra seemed absolutely set on the fact that she was the new Avatar. She would have to simply conclude that she sensed their old connection and acted on it early. Exceedingly early.

The girl stomped her foot stubbornly and the ground buckled in ripples radiating from the tiny limb. It was Raava's turn to be caught entirely flummoxed. She could feel Korra's shock mirroring her own and the poor boy she was arguing with seemed to be struck stupid. This was entirely unprecedented and very worrying. No Avatar had ever discovered their destiny at such a young age. Raava wondered if her ancient battle nearing day by day had something to do with it. The thought was concerning.

Korra recovered the fastest.

“Ha! I told you!”

Could nothing faze the girl?

The boy could only blanch, call out for his father and run off.

Surprisingly, Korra did not do anymore earthbending for the rest of the day. She had been puzzled by her friend's reaction, but soon disregarded it and found other children to play with. The topic did not come up again until she was back with both her parents at the end of the day, playing with her food in a show of what Raava assumed were terrible table manners in any human culture.

“Korra, eat your seaweed noodles,” her father ordered in a now well practiced, patient tone.”

“I don't wanna.”

“You don't want me to teach you some more waterbending tomorrow?” Tonraq said in a fabricated puzzled tone.

“What?! No, Daddy! I don't wanna eat seaweed noodles,” Korra corrected, stricken.

“But they're your favorite,” her mother pointed out.

“They're my old favorite,” Korra informed them as if that was the most logical thing in both worlds.

“Korra, you have to eat your food if you want to be able to train tomorrow,” Tonraq told her.

This only made the small girl angry. Raava knew her newest Avatar did not like hearing she couldn't do something. This would be a welcome quirk when she was older and knew when to apply it, but now? Now it was mostly used when she didn't want to nap or eat dinner. Still, Raava actually welcomed the immaturity. This part of Korra's life would not last forever, soon she would be pushed into a conflict older and more dangerous than she could imagine.

“You can't tell me what to do! I'm the Avatar,” she declared while starting a massive pout.

Both parents looked at each other in an exasperated, _look at what she's come up with now,_ manner.

“That's enough, Korra,” Senna said firmly. “You can eat five more bites of your dinner and then stop.”

“You don't believe me,” the small Avatar accused. “Hiryu didn't believe me either, but I showed him!”

Tonraq gave a long suffering sigh.

“Were you bending at other kids again, young lady?” He asked sternly.

Raava could empathize with Tonraq. Korra never bullied anyone with her waterbending, but she did have a tendency to over-zealously defend her friends from those that would. Korra had little restraint at this age and was thus not responsible enough to use her waterbending in this manner. Not yet at least.

“No! Well, it was an accident,” Korra said defensively.

“I thought Hiryu was your friend,” Senna said disappointingly. “Why would want to try and hurt him?”

“I didn't hurt him!” Korra shouted. “We were playing and he wanted to be Aang but I told him I wanted to be Aang and he said that girls couldn't be the Avatar and I said yeah-huh and 'sides Hiryu doesn't have tattoos like Avatar Aang,” Korra gasped in a breath, “I told him I really _am_ the Avatar so I should play Aang and he didn't believe me so,” here she stood up, “I went like _this.”_

Korra stomped like she did earlier and the stone floor of her family's eating area buckled similarly. It was a smaller demonstration, thankfully for her parents' sakes, since she was far more tired after going through her day. But it got her point across.

Tonraq and Senna regarded their small daughter blankly. She was grinning, proud of her show while the two clearly struggled to make sense of what just occurred. Finally, they looked to one another, as if to make certain that their daughter really had just _earthbended._

“Didn't you see?” Korra asked uncertainly. She wasn't one for long periods of silence and even as young as she was, Korra could tell her parents were tense, though she couldn't understand their concern.

“Of course we did,” Senna finally said warmly, though with a barely noticeable quiver in her voice. “But, even the Avatar has to finish her dinner. How do you think Aang beat the Fire Lord?”

This seemed to stump the little girl. Raava had to acknowledge their handle on the situation. She had watched this same discovery many times over throughout the past ten thousand years (though with Avatars much older) and the family and friends who took in this surprise as well as Senna and Tonraq seemed to were fewer than she would have liked. Being the Avatar was a very difficult path, she hoped they appreciated that fact and would act accordingly in the years to come. Of course, they did have practice with the unexpected given how unpredictable Korra was herself, Avatar soul notwithstanding.

Korra was silent for a few moments as she pondered the question her mother posed. She truly was a stubborn child. Never doing anything unless she was convinced she wanted to do it. Something Raava had watched her parents adapt to quite easily and she once again had to admire the Water Tribe peoples' ability to move with change. Never quite giving way, but not entirely steadfast either. She had seen this demonstrated to her countless times in grand ways through her waterbending Avatars, but she always liked to see the day-to-day aspects of human culture as well.

“Okay,” she pouted. “But you're gonna waterbend with me tomorrow?” She asked her father hopefully, “ooh, what about earthbending?”

This made Tonraq laugh. “Of course, but I don't know how to earthbend like you. How about you teach me tomorrow?”

And just like that, Korra finally started eating with gusto, excited about what would come tomorrow. She didn't notice the pensive looks her parents exchanged once again, but Raava did. She would not find out what they were worried about until the newest Avatar slept and she could hear them in the next room.

"Our daughter is the Avatar," Senna said softly. "Tonraq, this is going to change everything."

"We don't have to say anything now," he tried to reason.

"Don't we? I know the Avatar is usually revealed at sixteen, but Korra is already bending other elements. We can teach her how to at least control water, but earth?" Senna asked doubtfully.

Tonraq gave a heavy sigh. "I know, I'll send a letter to Master Katara and ask her how to get in contact with the White Lotus. I just think Korra is too young to deal with being the Avatar. Can you imagine what she'll have to deal with later? Even Aang was only thirteen when he ended the Hundred Year War. I wanted a simple life after everything in the North Pole."

"That isn't Korra's fault," Senna pointed out gently.

"I know. It's just going to take me time to get used to the idea that our toddler is the reincarnation of peace and balance supposedly," he said with a bittersweet chuckle. "I wouldn't have guessed with how hardheaded our daughter is."

Senna laughed with him, but it was also tinged in sadness. Raava sympathized with them. She knew of all the possibilities of what being the Avatar would mean to Korra's family. She hoped that her parents would continue as they were, as it seemed they were well on their way to being supportive and understanding of their daughter. Only time would tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What must the ancient spirit of peace and balance think while you live your life? I was wondering, so I decided to write a series of one-shots depicting Korra's life and Raava's take on it before, during and possibly after the series. This will stick to canon events in the show, but with some inferences and assumptions made on my part when I don't have show canon to base my shots on. Like the full events of Korra finding Naga. Or why Korra's parents seem to have their own house instead of living with her full time at the compound. So on and so forth. I probably won't be rehashing scenes unless I think they're super important to Raava and Korra's relationship, like Zaheer's poisoning or the past lives being destroyed. Otherwise, I will be moving into territory that is not outright written for us in the show.
> 
> Like the next shot, involving Korra finding Naga.


	2. Bridge

**Bridge**

Raava ended up being correct about Tonraq and Senna. They had indeed taken some time to make peace about their daughter's destiny, though they succeeded in never allowing Korra to witness their fear or doubts. They had plenty of time at any rate. It seemed this White Lotus Tonraq had written had taken their time coming to the Southern Water Tribe. That gave Korra plenty of opportunity to discover firebending as well (a temper tantrum due to wanting to play outside in a blizzard after not taking a proper nap). Raava was honestly at a loss to explain the young Avatar's discovery of _three_ elements at the tender age of four. As Senna feared, Korra had no real control over earth and fire. She could command them to do what she wanted sure enough, but she lacked discipline and restraint and her family's small home reflected that.

Eventually, the humans that ran the White Lotus arrived and Raava could not be any more unimpressed than she was at their first meeting. Their leader was condescending and cold towards Korra and her parents and thought he knew all there was to training a proper Avatar. Things did not improve after the humans in a terrorist faction attempted to kidnap Korra. (Humans, Wan was certainly right about darkness and unbalance within them and surely their fight to correct that will go on for many years to come.) The White Lotus insisted they conceal Korra and train her within a secluded compound in the South Pole, away from any potential danger. Something Raava felt would hinder Korra as time went on rather than help her.

Since Wan, the Avatar had a wanderlust within them to travel the world. Raava had no doubt that this was a trace of her first friend passed down to each Avatar after. It was central to who the Avatar was, despite each having a different personality. Their travel would allow the Avatar a chance to understand different people and their role in the cycle. Balance could never be achieved if Korra knew nothing of the culture and motivations of people different than her. Still worse was what the White Lotus thought of Korra's parents and their role in her life when she began her earthbending training and why the nine year old girl was currently outside the supposedly well guarded and secure compound.

Korra had a difficulty concentrating when she thought there were better things for her to do. There were no other children in the compound with her and so when she tired of going through her earthbending practices she wanted to play with her father. This was something her master and the White Lotus leader regarded as severely problematic. They had ordered Tonraq and Senna to move out of the compound in order for Korra to train in seclusion.

“If Mom and Dad are leaving, then I am too,” Korra said stubbornly as she attempted to navigate her way home through waist high snow fall.

Korra had been at a loss when they had left, much to her parents' severe reluctance and almost outright hostility. It was only due to Katara that they had even agreed, trusting the old woman to keep her word to negotiate with the White Lotus in the interim. Korra had not understood that, however. She only knew that her parents had been sent away and she had tried begging, crying, fighting and everything in between to force them into changing their minds. Only Raava and Katara seemed to grasp just how heartbroken Korra actually was, unfortunately nothing seemed to change, with the exception of an extreme listlessness that engulfed Korra since her parents' departure. That is, until, the young girl got the idea in her head to run away. Something Raava did not agree with in the slightest despite her disdain for Korra's keepers.

Raava wished the girl was older. That she had discovered the truth about herself later. As it was, Korra was simply too young to understand herself and the role she played in a spiritual manner and that meant she could gain no help from Aang through the Avatar State. If things were different, she would have had him advise the brash Avatar in patience, something Korra was deplorable at to be fair, and to trust in time and in her waterbending master that things would change.

Instead, Raava was forced to watch her young friend fall though a thin section of ice into a small den which was already occupied. The fall wasn't far, thank the cosmos, though unfortunately the den's residents could not claim to be harmless.

Korra screamed as the adult polar bear-dog lunged at her. For a terrifying moment, Raava thought her new friend's life would be cut short tragically early, but fate seemed to be on Korra's side this day. The animal never made it and crashed down painfully. Even Korra, as innocent as she was, could probably see that it was fatally wounded. From man or a rival animal neither could really say. Korra carefully kept her distance, Raava was thankful for that, and watched as the animal gave wheezing, pain filled breathes. The Avatar had yet to witness death and she was morbidly curious and saddened as the beast tried to desperately find its feet again. It took only moments before it went still.

Slowly, and Raava had never seen Korra move this slow, she approached the dead polar bear-dog. Raava could sense the urge to try and help the beast, but the girl was far too late. Fortunately, she was spared from having to witness any depressing attempts by Korra when the girl heard a small whimper deeper into the den. Her friend withdrew the hand she was stretching toward the huge animal and moved curiously toward the source of the noise.

The polar bear-dog cub was huddled inside a small crevasse in the far rock wall. Korra and the tiny, sad thing (though it was still about three-quarters of Korra's size) gazed at each other for an indefinite amount of time. If Raava had not already realized the significance of this, she would have assumed something was terribly wrong with the girl. Instead she knew that Korra was likely about to make a very important choice, just as Wan did all those years ago and just as every Avatar after him has. Even after all of these years and all of their lives, the Avatar still had a very soft spot for animals and Raava doubted that would ever change.

“Hi,” Korra said quietly. “I'm sorry I fell into your house.”

The cub only whimpered quietly in fear as it tried to fit itself even farther into the hole it was stuck in.

“Wait, it's okay,” Korra said quickly, but still quietly. Honestly, Raava was surprised she was capable of using such as light tone, but she was actually glad to hear it. It made her feel light to see her brash, fiery and often rough friend display such as soft part of herself.

“My name's Korra,” she continued, “and, well, I don't think your mom is here anymore.” The girl paused, suddenly very saddened. “That's okay, 'cause I know how that feels. I'm looking for my mom. She left me too.”

As Korra spoke, the relatively small polar bear-dog seemed to grow more confident as it realized it wasn't going to come to any harm. Slowly, it made its way closer to Korra and the girl had to actively try not to suddenly rush it. Patience was once again not her strong suit.

It took longer than Korra probably would have preferred, but she eventually coaxed the cub out of its hiding place and into the den proper.

“See? I told you I wasn't going to hurt you,” Korra said confidently and reached a hand out towards the animal. It shied away from the contact however and Korra had to frown in disappointment.

“That's okay,” she told it. “We should really leave though. I need to get home before the White Lotus finds out I left. They'll try to take me back to the compound and I'm _never_ going back there!”

The small beast only looked at Korra in confusion as it watched her fiery declaration. Its attention was not on her for long, however, as it soon noticed its deceased mother. Quickly, it bounded over to her and tried to lay with her body. Raava watched as Korra tried to convince the animal to leave, but it was no use. It seemed it was as hardheaded as the small Avatar was and was not going to abandon its mother until it realized she would not be roused.

After several sad moments of nuzzling and whimpering, the polar bear-dog cub realized that its mother would no longer move. Raava doubted the animal grasped the actual concept of death, but they often had the instinctual meaning imbedded within them since time began. This held true for the cub as it released a mournful howl.

Korra couldn't stand the sound and hugged the cub nearly as big as she was. Raava was fortunate indeed that the cub was too young for its predatory instincts to completely kick in, for if Korra had rashly hugged an older animal, it likely would have torn her apart, bending or not what with how close she was to it. Instead, it was merely surprised into sudden silence. She really wasn't sure what she would do with Korra, the girl was almost determined to put herself into great potential harm and then avoid it by sheer luck. The spirit had enough of run away adventures with Aang and he ended up in a war for his trouble.

“I know it's probably not the same, but we can go to my home and you can live with me,” Korra offered innocently. “My mom can take care of both of us.”

Here was yet another reason why isolation was a terrible idea. Korra had no idea that she was offering asylum she couldn't reasonably give to a natural enemy of her people for thousands of years. Humans and polar bear-dogs did not get along and would often attack one another if they could reasonably get away with it. Raava was certainly happy to try to rectify the imbalance of such a relationship, but her Avatar was young, still learning bending and appeared to have little in practical sense due to some _very_ short sighted humans.

It took more time, but eventually Korra convinced the polar bear-dog cub to follow her. Despite her desire to not waste time and risk the White Lotus capturing her, it seemed she couldn't stomach the thought of leaving the cub alone to its fate. Whether Korra understood that would mean death to it remained to be seen, however.

They both did not make fast time trudging through the snow towards what Korra only assumed was the direction towards her home village. Thankfully, she happened to be correct by sheer dumb luck, but still Raava hoped Tonraq would teach her to read a map after this. Korra would need the skill if she insisted on wild adventures into the South Pole tundra with little more than a parka, a backpack stuffed with sweets she stole from the compound kitchens and a thin blanket. Really she needed a lesson in survival skills in general, which is what she _would_ have been taught had the White Lotus not locked her away and her parents were permitted to teach her traditional Water Tribe customs and rites of passage. Cosmos take them, was she irritated with the human group.

The poor cub did not fare much better. It seemed to be too young to figure out it could actually walk on top of the snow with its giant front paws if only it would not blunder roughly and heedlessly through what was quickly becoming churned slush.

The two certainly made a pair, the Avatar and her animal companion recklessly going off into adventure.

* * *

Finally, _finally,_ after hours of waddling through the tundra, someone found Korra and her new friend. Both were exhausted beyond all measure and Raava had no doubt they would have both perished in the snow due to exposure if they had not been spotted by Tonraq and other hunters from his village.

Korra had succeeded in getting close enough to her former home to avoid the White Lotus looking for her, but that didn't mean she was going to get out of anything. Raava certainly hoped her young Avatar's parents had the sense to give her the lecture she wanted to give the brash and foolish girl. Tonraq was understandably too relieved at the moment, however, and simply gathered his young daughter in his arms to carry her home. Though, the same warm welcome was not offered to the young cub.

One of the other hunters cursed in surprise once he spotted the young predator. Korra blearily opened her eyes to see the man raise his spear to strike her new friend and surprised Tonraq when she violently squirmed from his grasp.

“No!” she screamed and sent an impressively large wave of ice towards the man and knocked him aside. She stood protectively in front of the cub as the other humans looked at her in bafflement.

“Korra, get away from it,” Tonraq ordered.

“No, you'll hurt her,” she accused. “She's my friend.”

“Korra, that is a polar bear-dog,” Tonraq said with barely held patience. He didn't seem to enjoy the idea of his young daughter standing with her back to a vicious predator that even now could overpower her.

Unfortunately for him, Korra had no idea why in both worlds that would be significant and simply stood her ground. Raava at least knew she would be great at defending the defenseless later in life. Had she not known this cub was her Avatar's new animal companion, she would have felt as frustrated as Tonraq looked, though.

“So?”

Her father soon gave up patience, seeing that Korra was not going to listen to him. He reached to pull her out of the way to let the other hunters kill the beast he was sure would snap and attack his daughter at any moment.

He was at least correct that the cub would snap, but instead she had jumped in front of Korra, likely thinking this strange, large human was going to attack the girl and gave the most ferocious snarl that she could. (It really wasn't impressive, the poor thing.)

Korra was the quickest to react, the men too surprised to see a polar bear-dog defend a human, even if it was just a cub, and jumped on her back. Effectively shielding the animal from any attacks the men could make.

“NO!” she bellowed, “Naga is my _friend!_ ”

Abruptly, and shockingly, Raava felt herself merge with Korra for the briefest of seconds in to the Avatar State. It was utterly instinctual and Raava doubted Korra even realized she had done it, for the next time she blinked her eyes were back to their typical, crystal blue.

Tonraq had noticed it, however, and it made him pause. Raava could actually see the man's emotions on his face as he warred with them. Protectiveness over Korra, realization that she _truly_ was the Avatar, and remembering just what that might entail.

“Wait,” he finally told the others as they moved to separate the stubborn Avatar from the animal she was holding in a death grip. “We can't kill the polar bear-dog,” he said with a sigh.

“What? Are you crazy? Tonraq, this thing will kill your _daughter_ ,” a hunter said, trying to make the father see reason.

“It won't. It's bonded with the Avatar,” Tonraq explained. “Just like in the stories.”

The other men stopped to consider this. Raava knew humans passed the tales of past Avatar lives through the ages, whether through mouth or pages, they loved stories of the Avatar. All of them were aware that the Avatar always traveled with an animal.

“I don't envy you trying to explain this to your wife,” the oldest hunter finally said as he smiled uncomfortably. It was clear none of the men were very happy with trusting a long time enemy not to maul a small girl, Tonraq included.

He huffed in frustration at the thought, but didn't answer. Instead, he again picked up his obviously exhausted run-away daughter (who was now much more cooperative now that she established her companion's safety) and began the two hour walk to his village. Honestly, how Korra feasibly thought she would reach it before falling over dead was beyond Raava. Her only conclusion was that the girl obviously had a penchant to act before thinking.

Had she thought about what she was going to do, perhaps she would have realized that her stunt was only going to make the White Lotus more determined to create some distance between the Avatar and her family. It was only thanks to Katara, Aang's widow, that Tonraq and Senna finally made ground in convincing them otherwise.

She knew she had liked the waterbender from the very beginning. Katara had always been and will always be a steadfast ally to the Avatar. She had an understanding of the Avatar's duty that went beyond the comprehension the White Lotus had. It was truly a shame that Aang, Tenzin and Tonraq had placed as much faith in them as they had. Of course, Tonraq probably now realized that.

“Your idea almost got my daughter _killed,_ ” he growled.

Once again, Korra was asleep, though this time with Naga as she had named the polar bear-dog cub when she proudly re-announced the fact to her horrified mother. The old hunter had indeed been right in implying that Senna would not tolerate the animal well. She had dragged Tonraq from the room (after making certain Korra was being watch by Master Katara herself for she was no longer trusting the failed White Lotus guards at the moment) and they had a loud, muffled argument over the matter. Still Tonraq had, eventually, won and Korra was allowed to keep her new friend, much to the indignation of the White Lotus leader. It was what sparked the current argument.

“Allowing that _thing_ near the Avatar is what will get the girl killed! She needs to train in seclusion. I have already explained that this will not be a permanent arrangement. She simply needs time to study and learn without distractions. Having a rabid beast nearby will hinder that,” the man said pompously.

Raava had never bothered to learn his name. She tried not to act so petty, but she was living day by day with a nine year old girl. She did not like the man and Korra's admittedly amusing tendency to tune him out when he was speaking to her did not help.

“Don't use the animal as an excuse,” Tonraq shot back. “You want us out of her life. I will not let you break my family apart. Haven't we already been through enough with those kidnappers and my brother's constant requests to have her go to him at the North Pole?”

“We are not trying to destroy your family, Tonraq. I am asking you to see reason, to see that we only want what is best for the Avatar,” the man responded.

“Korra is more than just the Avatar. She is also simply Korra,” Katara said finally. “I have been trying to explain this to you for two weeks. Do you think Aang had no life outside his duty? I have three children to prove that notion wrong. My husband was the Avatar, and he made a wonderful difference in the world, but even he would tell you that he would have never had succeeded without his friends and later family. My brother, Toph Beifong and Suki destroyed the Fire Nation air ships that would have devastated the Earth Kingdom, regardless of Ozai. Zuko and I dethroned his sister in order for him to rule the Fire Nation towards a peace that would have been impossible otherwise.”

“Master Katara, no one is questioning what you and the Avatar accomplished in the Hundred Year War, but what we're talking about is completely different. Korra is distracted with her parents' constant presence at the compound,” the White Lotus leader tried to explain.

 “It is not different at all. If you raise Korra with no sense of friendship of family, which she will get through allowing Tonraq and Senna, as well as Naga, to love her then she will never understand why she needs to protect our world. Even Aang had a family with all the Air Nomads before they were destroyed. Honestly, you would think I would know a thing or two about Avatars. Aang spoke of it all the time and I lived alongside the man for over fifty years. The White Lotus is not the end all, be all of authority on the Avatar and I would daresay that it is shameful to even claim such a thing. Goodness, have Tonraq and Senna move out, but I will warn you that if you do not allow them to visit whenever they wish, I will stop teaching Korra. Vain or not, I dare you to find her a better teacher,” the old woman huffed in annoyance.

 She was just the same. Even decades later, Katara never seemed to grow out of her lectures and tendency to mother others. Raava wouldn't have it any other way, especially now since the White Lotus leader seemed absolutely stunned that the most esteemed waterbender in the world was lecturing him like a small child, let alone dare to withhold her valuable insight as _blackmail._ He obviously did not know her at all.

In the end, he was far too scared to risk it. The compromise was cut just as Katara had ordered it. Technically, Korra's parents were to officially leave the compound, however due to Katara's threat, no one dared say anything when the two would stay for extended periods of time. And as Raava desperately hoped, Tonraq did indeed teach her young, foolish Avatar how to survive the tundra after a lengthy lecture by both parents when Korra was properly rested. Perhaps this isolation wouldn't be _as_ bad as Raava feared it would be. At least there were sane humans in Korra's life that would ensure it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I went ahead and bent the canon about Korra and the Avatar State. (I'll try not to do this too much or in an excessive way when or if I do so again.) If Korra is the first to tame a polar bear-dog, and come on polar bear-dogs are badass mofos, I can't imagine anyone letting her keep Naga simply because she threw some puppy dog eyes at them. Plus, I do think it served the purpose of showing that Korra is both human and spirit in that of being the Avatar. Two characters in this chapter only see her as one or the other at the moment and even later I don't think Tonraq (and Senna) ever stops thinking of Korra as his daughter first and foremost, which is actually rather adorable now that I think about it. That's my take anyway, I'd be happy to know what you all think.
> 
> Next up... probably Korra's first true human friends and how important they are to her. I'm debating right now.


	3. Enlightenment

**Enlightenment**

Raava knew this day would come, though she did not expect it to end like this. She had foreseen that Korra would tire of her isolation eventually and leave the South Pole for enlightenment (though if her friend knew that was the actual reason she was leaving remained to be seen). Thankfully the girl had gotten the blessing of Katara and her parents this time around and no one (aside from the White Lotus whose opinion was irrelevant) would be worrying needlessly over her. However, Korra seemed to be making the same mistakes she had made eight years earlier. Her current Avatar was not someone that thought ahead. She often made rash decisions and lived in the moment. This certainly made for an... interesting reincarnation, but Raava just knew that Korra would eventually get herself into trouble one day.

Which happened to be this day. It was nice to see what had happened to Republic City in her absence. Aang had worked very hard with all of his friends to make sure the nation he and Fire Lord Zuko created would grow to prosper and support itself. He had certainly succeeded in that endeavor, but Raava had seen for herself through his eyes that not everything was well within the city. Humans were complex creatures. Capable of great things both light and dark. Korra had only ever known her family, bending masters and the White Lotus. They had all treated her well, even the White Lotus, and she had never grown up wanting for anything as basic as food, shelter and companionship. So, learning that not everyone was as fortunate as she was a bit of a surprise for her.

Once again her isolation has proven to be a detriment to Korra's development and Raava could only hope that Korra's time in the city would teach her many things, least of which how not to get arrested. Raava was very familiar with Avatars taking matters into their own hands. Many times it was absolutely necessary to completely disregard the laws of the land in order to achieve balance and peace. This was not one of those times. Not long after Korra had arrived in the city (and proceeded to reveal she had not even thought of money, honestly this girl; as much as Raava cared for her...) the seventeen year old Avatar decided to pick a fight with one of the triads that had sprung up not long after Republic City's birth and apparently prospered after. Not that Raava was opposed to taking one of them on in theory, she simply saw where the police were coming from in arresting the young Avatar. Her friend had gone about the situation in entirely the wrong way.

Which was how Raava found herself with Korra in one of Republic City's jail cells. It was one of the larger ones, designed to hold suspects that were awaiting booking. Korra was too frustrated with the situation to feel fear, fortunately as Raava guessed Korra would only grow irrational if she was afraid, but that frustration wasn't making anything easier for her all the same.

“Hey, you!” Korra shouted to the one of the guards, “I know you can hear me! This was a mistake, I was _helping_ those people. I caught the bad guys, why am I here?”

The guard appeared used to these sorts of outbursts, however, and studiously ignored Korra. Raava hoped that Korra would soon stop shouting. She would only draw attention to herself and Raava did not know what sort of people were lock ed in the cell with the young woman. Not that she feared (much) for Korra herself. The Avatar had grown to be quite the bender, it was the criminals Raava was more concerned for. These types of people were often mired in desperation and often did not think rationally. The last thing she and  her Avatar needed was a fight that would harm others and make Korra's time in the city even more difficult than the Avatar had already made it.

Korra growled in frustration and finally decided to give up for the time being, thankfully. Instead she focused on the people locked with her and regarded them curiously. She was with five other women in the cell and they were all looking at her with barely concealed annoyance. Korra had remembered her brief conversation with that homeless man at the park and was wondering if these women were as unfortunate as him.

“So, how did you guys get in here?” Korra asked them a bit awkwardly. Apparently she had noticed them staring at her.

Three of the women looked away from her in disdain, but the other two seemed not to mind her question and were not  _as_ annoyed with her friend as the others.

One was middle aged with a scar going diagonally from her right ear to the corner of her mouth. If Raava had to guess, this woman was probably one that lived in one of the poorer districts what with the near rags she was dressed in.

“I run a _high stakes_ business. Nothing bad, but the police seem not to like simple card games and the like. Hmph. I say what I do is better than bein' in one of the triads. 'Least I'm not throwing fire at them,” she scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“High stakes?” Korra echoed in confusion.

The second woman, flashily dressed,  beautiful and slightly older than Korra, laughed.

“Kid, you're fresh off the boat aren't you? Don't your tribe gamble too?”

“Oh, well my dad would sometimes bet with his friends on pro-bending matches. Nothing serious, it was always fun to them,” Korra answered.

“Exactly!” The scarred woman exclaimed. “It's all for fun, isn't it? So what if a few old ladies bet more than they could afford every once in a while, I gotta feed my kids, you know? Ain't no one out there that would hire someone that can't read, 'specially not with my mug. You won't see me at her job, that's for sure,” she finished and jabbed her thumb at the younger woman.

“Well, what do you do?” Korra asked the younger woman, puzzled by the implication.

Raava wondered how her friend would react to this sort of thing. Korra had never come across these types of people and thus had virtually no opinion on them as of yet. Wan had known this sort of life before Raava. He had known  what desperation was and what humans sometimes had to turn to in order to survive. Korra did not, and Raava considered this one of the girl's first tests in understanding, which she would need to succeed in her life as the Avatar. Certainly these seedier types of people existed in the Southern Water Tribe, though not to the extent they would in a huge city like this  so Korra was getting her very first look at the darker side of the world.

T he young woman laughed again. “Oh, kid.... Sure you don't want your mommy to tell you about this stuff?”

“What? No! I don't need my mom- just tell me what you mean,” Korra snapped in irritation. The Avatar did not enjoy being the butt of a joke.

“I provide entertainment to paying men. It's all in fun for them and it helps me pay the bills. Win-win for everyone involved. It's the city that wants to get into everyone's bedroom, not like it should matter to them, bunch of nosy perverts,” the flashy woman muttered darkly.

Korra was still fairly innocent in this matter. Raava knew the girl was aware of the act itself, but  the girl had no experience in matters of sexuality as far as other people were concerned. Still, even Korra could figure out the implications of what the other woman was telling her and it inspired one of the darkest blushes Raava had ever seen  on her face.

“Oh, ah,” Korra coughed uncomfortably, “well, I don't really see what's wrong with those types of things. Except of taking advantage of those old people. Why not just make them leave if they gamble too much?”

“Ain't no one ever looked out for _me_. Besides, they know what could happen, 'snot like they were born yesterday,” the scarred woman grinned. “ Don't know why you care. Can't be a bleeding heart in this city, kid. It doesn't care about you, so why make the effort? Do yourself a favor and quit beating up triads before that comes back to bite you.”

“I can't do that,” Korra protested. “Those people were in trouble, and sure I wasn't as careful as I probably should have been, but I couldn't let those guys hurt that shopkeeper.”

Well, at least the girl realized she could have handled that situation a lot better than she did. Raava hoped that Korra would learn from this and many other times she should have shown more restraint. Previously that hadn't happened, but with Korra finally admitting her lack of care something might just change this time.

The two women looked at each other as if to ask one another if Korra was really that dense, apparently one did  _not_ challenge one of Republic City's triads and thought to get away with it. They likely thought the poor girl was going to find herself killed within the week.

“Look, kid, I don't know how it is where you come from but-”

The scarred woman was interrupted by shouting from the hallway.

“What do you mean you stuck her with the others?” a woman's voice barked in disbelief.

“Chief, I... uh... we got her in there with her hands cuffed, it's not like she can bend,” a man's voice said uneasily.

“I don't _care_ if she can't bend, you idiot! Can you imagine what will happen if the kid is stupid enough to tell those low lives who she is? Spirits, that street has already suffered thousands of yuans in damage, I don't need that headache in my station. Get her into an interrogation room yesterday, Sergeant! I'll deal with her myself. I should demote the lot of you,” the woman muttered furiously as she walked off.

Poor Korra was the only one in the cell young enough to be called a kid, and the rest of her cell mates were intelligent enough to pick up on that fact. The three others who had previously dismissed her snapped their heads towards her to try and figure out what could be so important about Korra.

“What did _you_ do to get the chief of police herself so worked up about?” one of them asked. She was the oldest woman in the cell and her graying hair and scarred musculature told Korra and Raava that she was an experienced fighter. The cosmos was looking out for Korra today because the girl picked up on the tension suddenly in the cell and tried to avoid the question.

“Nothing that bad. Dished out some vigilante justice and broke a few windows. You know, kid stuff,” Korra said breezily.

“Thousands of yuans don't sound like a few windows,” the old woman said slowly.

“Geez, lady, lay off the kid. She's a dumb immigrant from the Water Tribe, nothing special,” the... performer said as she rolled her eyes.

“Hey!” Korra did not appreciate that description. Raava really hoped Korra would stop talking. Now was not the time to let her pride get in the way, but she doubted the girl realized that. She was seventeen, thought she was invincible and was cursed with a fiery temper that flared at the worst of times. The challenges of youth, hopefully her friend would grow out of it.

Fortunately, this was when the metalbending police  _finally_ decided to show up. Perhaps they should be demoted considering how slowly they were moving. Honestly, even the guard Korra was shouting at earlier was still leafing through a magazine disinterestedly.

“Alright ladies,” the sergeant said as he walked into the room, “line up against the wall. 'Cept you, _Avatar_ ,” he sneered at Korra. It seemed he was still upset about her Avatar's attempt to avoid arrest. Judging from the bruising that was starting to appear across the entirety of his face, Raava assumed he had been the one to slam into the wall of ice Korra had created as he pulled her hair. Korra seemed to realize that as well.

“Ouch, uh, sorry about that. I didn't really want to hurt any of you guys,” she said bemusedly.

“Kid, you're the blazing _Avatar?!”_ The scarred woman said in disbelief.

“Yeah, it was nice to meet you two at least. You and that homeless guy seem to be the nicest people here so far, which is really... kinda weird. Huh,” Korra said thoughtfully. Raava knew this day had given the girl much to think about, which was a good thing. Korra was very bright, when she bothered to think ahead it garnered great results. She honestly was at a loss at times to explain why her friend didn't realize that fact and do it much more often. It would prevent these situations from happening in the first place. Then again, Korra seemed to learn best by _doing._ Raava could hardly claim that she would have learned as much about the city as she did today by playing by the rules.

“Alright, shut up. The chief wants you in solitary, so we'll put you there. Can't say you aren't getting what you deserve, she's probably going to throw the whole book at you,” the sergeant said meanly.

“Now I'm kinda glad I _did_ hit you with that ice. Still say I did your job better than you did,” Korra taunted and glared at the officer.

If only she would learn to respect authority. At least a little bit, was that too much to ask? Raava didn't think so.

The guard turned a purple color, which was really quite hilarious in combination with the bruising on his face and Raava couldn't bring herself to blame Korra for sniggering at him. She was seventeen and despite her exasperation with her Avatar, Raava was well aware that Korra still had much to learn about life in general.  She also couldn't claim that Korra's personality made life boring, however on bad days like this, the girl's tendency to get herself deeper into trouble was maddening.

The sergeant grabbed Korra roughly and practically dragged her from the cell.

“Oh, looks like I hit a sore spot. Don't worry, I'll tell your chief you tried your very best today,” Korra laughed boldly.

Amazing. It was as if Korra was utterly unaware of the situation she was in. That or she was woefully overestimating the amount of power she actually had here. Raava suspected it was a bit of both.

“By the spirits,” the sergeant groaned. “Here, take her and get her out of my sight.” He pushed her towards two deputies that were accompanying him and he began to rub his temples in frustration.

Korra turned and grinned at the two... friends? The two friends she had made in the cell as all of the women watched the deputies drag Korra off in disbelief that they had actually met the Avatar herself today, inside a  _jail cell._

Raava wondered if she truly had any right to be surprised by today. She wondered if she should have seen this coming. She cared for Korra, she was a wonderful person, but Raava knew just how arrogant the girl could be. She hoped that her time in the city would teach the girl a little humility, she was going to need it. The Avatar wasn't all status and believing she was invincible in any and all things. Still, it wasn't all a wash. Korra had actually been quite kind to the people she had met today, with the exception of the police and triad members of course, and that was more than Raava could have hoped for. The isolation _could_ have made Korra closed minded, but she seems to have avoided that fate and Raava couldn't be more grateful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed my mind about this chapter and decided to go with Raava's thoughts on Korra's first day in Republic City. I thought it was an important bit to touch on considering this is Korra's first step in a much larger world. The first episode did a really good job at showing just how out of her element Korra is and how innocent of how difficult life can be. Unfortunately there's never really an episode about that again. Similarly, I wanted to touch on Korra's arrogance in Book 1. It isn't something that overshadows her character, but it's definitely there and it doesn't quite fade away completely until Book 4. I always like seeing it in the show because it highlights just how young Korra actually is and makes her relatable. What happens when you give a seventeen year old superpowers? Korra happens, at the very least.
> 
> I'm pushing off Mako and Bolin for the moment. Tenzin deserves a chapter with the air babies. They are Korra's family away from home and their relationship is adorable.


	4. Patience

**Patience**

Korra was frustrated. It was only to be expected, the girl could was very impatient. Bending water, earth and fire had always come easy to her, even as a little girl, but air was always a different matter entirely. It was her most opposite element, requiring patience and spirituality. Two things the young Avatar did not have in abundance. Raava was confident they would come to her in time, but Korra was not so certain. As someone that lived very much in the moment, her friend was only interested in the fact that she was unable to bend air _now._

Raava knew that she had placed a lot of hope in Tenzin being able to get her past the block. Korra thought that she simply needed an airbending master to give her all of the answers she needed. If only it were so simple. Raava liked Tenzin. He had a good heart and had grown into a very wise man since she had last seen him. However, Aang's son was proving to be Korra's opposite just like airbending was. He was just as foreign to her and that only fueled the girl's frustrations with herself and gave way to some very unfortunate fights between the two. Raava wasn't sure if they would ever find a way to relate to one another.

It had been a few hours since Korra had destroyed the air gates. Raava was about as disappointed in her friend right now as she had ever been. She could understand Korra's frustration and fears that she wasn't living up to her potential, but the girl had no control over her temper and she was taking it out on people who were only trying to help her. Still, Korra wasn't oblivious. Raava could feel the guilt washing over Korra right now, but her pride refused to let her back down at the moment. That would come in time, hopefully very soon, she owed Tenzin an apology. Her Avatar was avoiding him at the moment in the desire to avoid any more lecturing and from feeling even worse than she already did. So here they were, overlooking the bay. Something Korra did when she wanted to think, which could only be a good thing at the moment.

“You didn't come in for lunch,” Pema's voice said from behind them.

“Wha! Pema! I didn't hear you come out. Uh, are you okay with walking this far out?” Korra asked as she calmed her breathing. Pema could be silent when she wanted to. Raava didn't blame her what with raising three rambunctious airbending children.

Pema waved Korra's concern off however.

“I'm fine. I like to taking walks around this time of day. It helps me feel less cooped up, Tenzin can be a worrywart sometimes,” she explained good naturedly.

Korra scoffed. “Or maybe he just likes to keep people locked up on this island,” she said angrily. “Uh, I mean....”

Korra hadn't meant to voice her thoughts so candidly. She didn't want to offend Pema who she had not spoken with much in comparison to Tenzin and his children. Raava thought this could be good for her Avatar, though. Pema was a very understanding person and she could probably help Tenzin and Korra bridge their misunderstandings with each other. They certainly needed the help right now.

Pema looked at Korra in concern before carefully sitting on the ground in front of her. She gently rebuffed Korra's awkward attempts to help the heavily pregnant woman.

“What happened this morning?” she asked. “Jinora mentioned you've been having trouble, but everyone seems upset today.”

Her friend sighed heavily. Raava could feel Korra's guilt bubble up until she couldn't ignore it any longer. At least not with Pema who was looking at her with about the kindest face Korra could expect at the moment which only made the girl feel worse.

“I messed up. The kids all probably think I'm a huge jerk, which I am. I'm a terrible airbender and I got mad and set the air gates on fire. Then I yelled at Tenzin in front of them.... And... well, I didn't really mean the stuff I said to him, but I'm still mad at him and he's not really listening to me. I'm stuck here on this island with nothing to think about besides how much I suck at airbending!” Korra had started off relatively quiet, but by the end of her admission she was practically shouting.

For her part, Pema didn't seem too upset with Korra's outburst. Raava suspected she would be the one to adjust to her future teenage children far easier than Tenzin would. Then again, Korra was about as difficult an adolescent human can be what with her issues with authority and temper. The airbending master was going to be getting a lot of practice. Kyoshi was probably the last Avatar that had been this difficult in her youth, but Raava was well aware of the success her earthbending friend had in her life and she had complete faith that Korra would grow beyond her challenges as well. The girl was resilient and ultimately kindhearted, however Raava knew probably better than humans themselves how hard it was to be seventeen. She's seen this thousands of times before.

“I think Tenzin forgets sometimes just how hard it can be to live this kind of life,” she said after a moment. “It took me time to adjust when I became an air acolyte.”

“But I'm not an air acolyte or an air nomad. All I want is to listen to a pro-bending match on the radio, but he acts like that's the worst thing ever,” Korra grumbled.

Pema chuckled, “He probably also forgets what it's like to be young. I can talk to him later, but only if you promise to talk to him as well. And come eat lunch. You'd be surprised, but the kids have been asking about you all day. You made them worry by running off today,” she admonished.

“Really? I didn't think they'd want anything to do with me right now. I was pretty mean,” Korra said uncomfortably.

Raava thought Korra could stand to be less hard on herself. This aspect of her personality was one that she has been slowly becoming more and more aware of over the past few years. Korra hated failure and she hated the thought of misrepresenting the Avatar's legacy. It was concerning. Raava herself _was_ disappointed with her friend today, but that certainly didn't mean the girl couldn't make amends. Perhaps this was a result of Korra's youth, thinking that her problems were larger than they actually were or that she's ruined something beyond repair. However, that still didn't explain her friend's tendency to become fixated on her faults. Hopefully this would pass eventually. Sometimes it truly was unfortunate that Korra had learned of her destiny so early.

“Nope, I'm afraid Jinora, Ikki and Meelo have adopted you. You're stuck with them and that means fighting and making up with them. Have you seen the things Meelo does to those poor girls sometimes? If they can forgive him, then you'll be easy,” the air acolyte laughed.

Korra gave a small smile and went to help Pema up. This time insisting that the woman allow her.

“Thanks, Pema. I'm not quite ready to talk to Tenzin yet, but I think I can handle lunch. I need some time to think.”

“Well, Tenzin is in another council meeting right now, so I think you're safe for the moment. Korra, don't worry so much. You'll work out the problems between the two of you together. I don't know much about airbending, but I do know how stubborn and hardworking you are. You'll get this eventually.”

Hopefully Korra would listen to this plea for patience this time. Raava wanted the girl to be less harsh on herself. The expectations the White Lotus set for her were not helpful. Truly a disappointing sect of humans; the girl was still a child and not quite ready for the weight of the world on her shoulders. Aang had the unfair misfortune of dealing with war as a child, perhaps that was the reason they expected Korra to be a full fledged Avatar so quickly. They expected her to live up to her predecessor’s quite frankly amazing feat of mastering four elements in one year. Which was madness, the boy had done practically the impossible. The Avatar was certainly capable of miracles and amazing feats, but Raava knew better than anyone that no two Avatars were the same. Korra would come into her own greatness, she could feel it. But her time had not quite arrived yet, though it was on the horizon.

Raava wished she had a stronger connection with her Avatar than she did. At least then Aang could tell her just how hard earthbending had been for him to master. Or any of the other Avatars. Her situation was hardly unique, yet the pressure of being the Avatar was getting to Korra in a way that Raava was beginning to think was unhealthy. She hoped that she was worrying too much and that the girl's fears would soon pass. Otherwise, Raava worried just how Korra would react to those fears. Her friend was impulsive and prone to making poor decisions when pressured. Hopefully Aang's family would be able to help her through this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I changed my mind again about a chapter. Sorry about that guys, I'm writing this as it comes to me. I was rewatching Book 1 for some inspiration on a Tenzin chapter, but then I realized that the... second... third? (I forget) episode deals with their rocky relationship beginning perfectly on its own. I didn't want to write more of the same. That's where Pema came in. She gets hardly any time with Korra in the show's entirety and I was wondering what the heck Korra did for the rest of the day after her tantrum but before sneaking out. Raava's thoughts on this were also of interest to me because Korra seriously acts like such a brat, but she has some legitimate emotions underneath her actions that explain her behavior and they haunt her for a very LONG time considering her struggles with inadequacy are pretty much a part of her character arc through the whole show.
> 
> I also want to take the time to thank everyone for all the comments, kudos and bookmarks. Y'all awesome. :D Seriously though, the next chapter actually WILL be what I say it's going to be as I actually have a mental outline for it going on right now. Mako and Bolin!


	5. Revelation

**Revelation**

Unprecedented was a word that often came up in Raava's thoughts this cycle. It was not one she enjoyed using. She was very glad that Korra had finally made some friends that were her age, and not to mention human, however now she was more concerned about the Equalists. For once, she was glad for Korra's uncanny ability to find danger, if only to gain insight in what was now happening in Republic City. To think, this night had all started with her Avatar sneaking out in teenage rebellion against Tenzin.

To be fair, _this_ situation wasn't Korra's fault this time. It seemed though that Bolin, the girl's new friend, also had a flair for finding trouble and Mako's reaction was very familiar to Raava. The firebender was very worried about his brother's sudden disappearance and Korra was glad to help him. Her motivation lying both in friendship and her crush on Mako. Raava suspected that after this night, she was going to have to watch Korra awkwardly attempt to court the young man. Honestly, would it really have done that much harm to allow other children of Korra's age in the compound? Her friend was not what Raava would call completely socially adjusted, not that it was her fault in the slightest, but still. She didn't like watching her friends struggle needlessly.

Granted, that was very much a secondary concern right now. Korra and Mako had infiltrated an Equalist rally and what Raava saw was of grave concern. Certainly the Equalists were eventually going to be something Korra had to address considering their desire to cause imbalance within the city, along with the triads, but Raava had to admit that she had underestimated them. Dangerously so, apparently. Somehow this Amon had unlocked an ability that had previously only manifested within the Avatar and because of that fact, Raava was extremely dubious of the Equalist leader's story. Spirits did not concern themselves in the matters of humans unless those matters directly impacted them. Raava herself had not wanted to ally with Wan originally and had only done so out of necessity before their friendship. To claim that her people were meddling in the social injustices of humans was laughable at best.

No, there was certainly another answer to this mystery and Raava was determined to get to the bottom of it. Korra might not have a strong connection to her legacy yet, but that did not mean Raava was at the same disadvantage. She would scour the memories of every Avatar if she had to, but she would find a way to aid her friend. For her part, Korra was... disturbed. This threat was the first she would face in her life as the Avatar and it was a very personal one. Amon was trying to exterminate benders and her friend placed much of her identity on her bending. Raava did not think this would bode well for Korra's emotional state in the long run. Already she was struggling with what she considered failure in her inability to airbend as of yet; facing a foe that could potentially eradicate a bender's connection to their element, or elements as Raava knew Korra ultimately feared, was going to inspire terror in her Avatar. The faster she found the answer she was looking for, the better. Raava did not think Korra would react to fear rationally, especially considering the fact that the girl had never felt fear such as this in her life.

At least Korra could take heart in the successful rescue of her new friend.

“Please, _please,_ can we stop now? I don't want to be carried by this scary, giant polar bear-dog anymore,” Bolin called as the teenagers left the rally behind them.

Korra did as he asked and had Naga stop. The animal dropped Bolin unceremoniously from her jaws and flinched comically as she tried to lick him in reassurance.

“Relax, Bolin. Naga's my best friend. She won't bite anyone I tell her not to,” Korra tried to tell the earthbender, but Raava could tell the boy was reluctant to believe her. Naga seemed to have this effect on most people, Korra was likely going to have to show him just how puppy-like Naga could be later in order to put his concerns to rest.

“Yeah... I'll take your word for it,” he said as he rubbed his sore stomach. “But seriously, you guys came for me! I thought I was a goner for sure but that whole mist thing and throwing that equalist was amazing! Thank-you, thank-you, _thank-you!_ ” Bolin exclaimed and tackled Mako and Korra off of Naga's back.

Both Korra and Mako were more subdued in returning the embrace. Raava had been right to assume Amon had frightened the girl. Already thoughts of how she was supposed to do her duty as the Avatar and stop the madman were swirling around in her head. It was frustrating to watch her friend assume she had to face this threat alone and with all the answers. The Avatar did not automatically know what was the right path. She had to grow into her role with all of the mistakes and success that came with living the _life_ of the Avatar. Korra's humanity made it a requirement that she not know what she could face in her life and how to combat the problems that would come. She would simply have to learn and trust in other humans to help her, including her past lives.

This threat has unfortunately surfaced while the girl was not ready. She was not a fully realized Avatar, she had not yet formed a spiritual connection with her past lives and Raava by extension. Typically, Raava was content in allowing her friends to come into their duty in their own time. Korra was only seventeen, a year older than most Avatars were even made aware of their identity, she did not expect Korra to be ready. The human world was not as forgiving, however. This was perhaps the Avatar and Raava's greatest weakness. That humans would learn to take advantage of the time between the death of the former Avatar and his or her successor's time to inherit their position. Raava knew that Korra had it within her to adjust and meet this threat if pressed, but she didn't want to leave it entirely in the girl's hands if she could help it. Not for a lack of trust, her friends have proven time and again that they were capable of great things on their own merits, but because of her promise to Wan in the first place. She would always support the Avatar and Korra needed her. She could not hope to defeat the Equalists if she was left in the dark.

“Bolin, what were you _doing?!_ I told you to stay away from the Triple Threats!” Mako growled, but both Korra and Raava could see that the firebender was relieved to have his brother safe and was now releasing the fear he had been carrying since Bolin had been kidnapped.

“I'm sorry, Mako, I wanted to help raise money for the tournament,” Bolin explained meekly as he twisted his fingers.

“I said I would figure it out didn't I? You almost got in a turf war, not to mention almost getting your bending taken away tonight! What if you got arrested and we got kicked from the tournament? What if Amon had actually taken your bending? What if they ki-”

“Mako, stop,” Korra ordered. “Bolin gets it.”

Indeed, the boy looked both tremendously guilty as he caught on to his brother's anger and fear as well as defensive in response to Mako yelling at him. Raava suspected that this was sore point for the earthbender. Having his older brother taking care of him his entire life and then growing up and noticing that Mako was not taking him seriously. Granted, Bolin was still immature what with his age and relative sheltering from the darker facts of life Mako had shielded him from, but he seemed to now want to help Mako take care of each other. He was a very sensitive and sweet person despite his gullibility and misguided sense and those two traits would likely fade with age and experience, eventually.

“Let's just go home. I have to tell Tenzin about Amon and Bolin's probably exhausted,” Korra said tiredly. Raava could tell that Korra simply wanted this day to be over. Not only was it exhausting for her, and Mako, physically to locate Bolin but also emotionally to witness Amon destroy those triad member's connection to their element.

Mako scowled but didn't say anything more. Raava had observed that he typically didn't display his emotions so openly, but the scare of possibly losing the last of his family likely prompted his anger to lash out. Still, the brothers seemed to be very close. She doubted they would stay upset with each other for too long.

It was a good thing Korra had the sense to get out of the streets quickly. The Equalists had let them go, Raava didn't know why and she didn't particularly care. Humans could change their minds in a split second. Korra needed to be safe and take the time to process what she had seen. Hopefully she wouldn't allow this to get to her too much, but Raava wasn't confident in that thought. This night wasn't exactly the balm her friend needed to soothe the insecurities that have been taking hold in her mind lately. Raava herself needed the time to sift through her Avatars and have them aid her in finding out just _what_ was so familiar about this Amon. He moved so fluidly, his grip that of a bender when he severed the triad men's connections. It was likely she would find the answers in those clues. Raava severely doubted the man wasn't a bender himself. They would bring an end to this and balance the city. Korra would adjust and meet this threat head on, Raava was confident of that. Her Avatar needed only time, though if she would get that time remained to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit more Equalist centric than I expected it to be, but I couldn't imagine Raava being any less concerned about them than she was. The next chapter will more than likely be about episode 4 specifically the aftermath of Korra's extremely ill-advised challenge to Amon. Raava will not be thrilled about it, to say the least.


	6. Fear

**Fear**

Raava didn't know who she should be more upset with. Korra for taking such an unnecessary risk towards her safety, Tarrlok for putting the girl in the position in the first place, or Tenzin for not stepping in when it became obvious Korra's sense had been utterly compromised. She understood Korra was afraid, better than anyone in her life, however she felt the signs of her fear were quite frankly obvious. Her current Avatar was brash and prone to poor decisions in the heat of the moment. When she first turned down that manipulative man's proposal after he nearly hit all of the correct notes to stir her friend's pride, it should have clued _someone_ in on the fact that all was not well with Korra. Indeed, Tenzin had noticed her behavior eventually when he tried to address her fear, but Raava felt he should have pushed harder.

Of course, it wasn't all Tenzin's fault, Raava knew that Korra would react poorly to her fear. The girl tried to be so strong and invincible. She had never faced such a threat to her safety before, not one she could remember at least, so the idea that someone could take away the one facet of her identity that Korra placed  _so much_ of her person-hood on was terrifying for her. The girl was having nightmares, she wasn't her normal fiery self. Raava knew all of this and she truly sympathized with Korra, Amon _was_ frightening, however that did not mean she was happy about the utterly mad idea of hers to challenge the madman to a one-on-one duel. She allowed her fear to  become her pride and ended up putting her life in jeopardy. Amon could have  _easily_ taken her bending away. He could have even killed her if he felt so inclined. Korra was simply too naïve at this point in her life to even consider that he would not have the same sense of honor that she did. It never occurred to the sheltered girl that he wouldn't come alone and the he wouldn't bring a cadre of chi-blockers with him.

But it should have occurred to Tarrlok and Tenzin. The politician was a disgusting man. Raava could tell a mile off that he was using her Avatar to further his agenda, frankly anyone besides Korra could say the same. He laid the perfect trap for Korra, using her pride and facade of fearlessness against her as well as the fact that she really was _very_ sheltered. How the man thought he would gain anything from risking Korra's life as the Avatar so carelessly was beyond her. Had Amon taken Korra's bending it would have spread a mass panic, the other authority figures in power would have questioned his sense (and rightly so) in allowing Korra to put herself in that position in the first place. He likely would have lost his leadership in his task force.

Tenzin knew it was a bad idea as well. Had Raava been her own entity, she would have liked to forcibly restrain Korra to a chair until the time of the meeting passed or when the foolish girl had some sense talked into her. Whichever came first. But she wasn't and she had to watch as Korra dealt with being utterly helpless for the first time in her life. At least Tenzin had been there for her in the aftermath. Truly, it wasn't any one person's fault. All of them had a hand in Korra putting herself into so much danger and ultimately Amon was the human that was cruel enough to threaten her in such a manner.

If there was  _any_ silver lining in last night, it was that Raava and Aang had finally managed to briefly make contact with Korra. They had been able to take advantage of her fear and helplessness (not to mention their own considerable anger and terror at the situation) and send her flashes of Aang's memories. It was in the hope that Korra would eventually recognize them for what they were and meditate on them when she was ready. It hadn't taken Raava as long as she had originally thought to find what she had been looking for, likely because Yakone was one of the darkest humans she had ever had the misfortune of meeting. To even  _want_ to cultivate his bloodbending to such extreme levels was horrifying and she had no qualms about Aang taking the skill from him entirely.

She still wasn't certain how Amon was taking away people's bending. It was a skill that he apparently created, but only waterbending had the capacity of controlling the human body in such a way. Bloodbending to be specific and only one human has ever had such a powerful ability in that horrid sect of waterbending that she or any of her Avatars had ever known. If Amon was not related to Yakone (and she very much suspected they were directly related) she would be massively surprised. What Korra was to do with the information she did not know. Yet. But once the girl was enlightened, they could move from there. As it was, Korra stood no chance in defeating him conventionally at the moment.

Korra was perfectly aware that she was essentially helpless against him at this time as well. She had not been fine after the ambush and hadn't slept well. The nightmares had not returned, but the girl had been too restless to gain any sleep. Tenzin had noticed immediately and excused her from training. Much to the dismay of the children.

“Can we have a day off too, Daddy?” Ikki asked eagerly.

“No,” the airbending master said flatly.

Despite her poor mood, Raava could not help but be charmed by the fact that Tenzin's children had taken so easily to Korra. The eternally cursed compound had not blunted Korra's social skills to the point that she was unable to relate to them, thanfully. (Instead the White Lotus blunted them to the point of challenging _terrorists_ to midnight duels. She  _would_ convince Korra to change their ways one day.) In fact, the children seemed to bring out the girl's playfulness in such a manner that it exasperated Tenzin. His children looked up to his student as essentially an adopted elder sister and as such they wanted to do anything Korra was doing. Unfortunately, Korra seemed to be oblivious to this aspect of her relationship with them, as of right now at least, and sometimes encouraged the children to act out unintentionally.

“That's not fair! How come Korra gets to skip practice?” Ikki pouted.

“Tenzin, it's okay, I can still practice,” Korra protested. Raava very much agreed with Tenzin in this matter. Her Avatar was utterly exhausted and needed some time to process her feelings. They had actually calmed despite her sleepless night, and Raava knew that her friend would bounce back to her usual self now that she finally realized that she was in fact afraid and the emotion would cease to utterly control her. But she was not yet at that point. Sleep would go a long way, but Korra, prideful as she was, didn't want to admit weakness.

“Absolutely not. You're exhausted and a clear, focused mind is needed for airbending. Korra, just take a day to rest. You can return to practice tomorrow,” Tenzin said firmly.

“What happened last night?” Jinora asked curiously. Tenzin's oldest child was observant and sharp. It was likely that the child had noticed Korra's demeanor immediately but had held in her questions until now.

“I stayed up all night waiting for Amon, that's all,” Korra tried to answer dismissively, but it didn't come out as genuine as she had wanted. Jinora, bright as she was, picked up on the lie at once. She looked like she wanted to press the subject, but Meelo beat her to it.

“Hey! Daddy doesn't let us rest when we're sleepy. You gotta be strong to be an airbender. There's no sissies on _my_ island!” the boy declared.

“What? _Sissy?_ ” Korra sputtered. “You're gonna eat those words, shorty.”

“Make me!” Meelo shouted and spun off on his air scooter.

Tenzin began to sputter himself as his other children took off after his son.

“Wha-! Kids! We have our morning meditation! Get back here! Korra, don't encourage them,” he cried but Korra couldn't even hear him. All she could think about was proving her honor in being the toughest person on Air Temple Island.

Raava wasn't even mad at her for leading the airbending children in what was basically anarchy. It was clearly the kind of relaxation the girl needed. Korra definitely wasn't one to meditate on her fears, she was far more a physical person than a spiritual one. Hopefully her Avatar would achieve a more balanced stance in this aspect, but for now she chased after Meelo and began to earthbend obstacles for him to weave around. She made certain to give the boy plenty of time to react to each rock she erected. Raava honestly would never have guessed Korra would be so talented with children; it was heartening. Raava could faintly hear Pema soothing her agitated husband into allowing a break in his very structured schedule for once. 

He really wouldn't be long in waiting for his children to rejoin him for practice. Raava very much doubted Korra would be able to keep up with the young airbenders all day. Korra was more in tune with herself than most people gave her credit for. She was really playing right now for two reasons: to take her mind off of last night and to tire herself enough to sleep without interruption. Her friend was glad to include Jinora and Ikki in her game, much to Tenzin's dismay as they tore up the courtyard. Korra was definitely going to have to repair it later.  At least she would be back to herself. Raava wasn't happy to have her so downtrodden. If mild rebellion, temporary destruction and acting the airbender children's ages for a day would made her feel better than so be it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not certain where I'm going to go after this one. I'm going to have to watch And The Winner Is... to determine if I want Raava's thoughts on that chapter or if to skip directly to Asami and Aftermath. For certain I'm not going much into love triangle stuff, I just watched that episode and beyond Korra and Mako's interactions, there's really not much to do with Raava and Korra's relationship there. Raava will probably give her thoughts on Korra's very first and very awkward relationship attempts in general, but I have a better idea on what to do with that storyline than recapping The Spirit of Competition directly and it has more to do with Aftermath, or more specifically the aftermath of Aftermath.


	7. Humility

**Humility**

Korra's life was busier than ever. On some level, Raava knew something like this would happen. Korra's life becoming more exciting leaving that terrible compound, that is. Not that she would have ever seen the Equalists coming. Of course, she had seen the teenage... silliness coming a mile away. Raava had been privy to many, _many_ Avatars' lives and their teenage shenanigans. Her current Avatar was definitely one of the more awkward that Raava has lived with but, all things considered, it could have been far worse. She really was fortunate that Korra tended to be a fast learner, else she would have been forced to suffer more of her friend's rather terrible attempts to woo Mako.

It wasn't as though Raava disregarded Korra's feelings for the boy. This was her Avatar's first real crush and the boy was a nice fellow when he and Korra weren't arguing, but suave Korra was not and she ended up hurting herself, Mako and his brother in the process. Not to mention the fact that humans tended to disapprove of stealing (though how one could “steal” a person's affections was confusing; one either liked a person or they didn't) another's mate and Raava rather liked the Sato girl especially in light of tonight's events.

This was what she hadn't seen coming. Raava couldn't help but feel partly responsible for this mess. She could not fathom how Republic City, the city which she had been present at its very founding, had come into such unbalance. The city certainly was not this way when Aang had passed. He and Sokka had worked very hard to ensure the city grew healthy for the most part. Sokka had even served on the council. It seemed with their passing, that had changed. The meeting Korra had gracelessly barged in on (though this time she really hadn't minded the girl's brash nature; it had been very informative) had indicated that Sokka's non-bender seat had been swallowed by benders entirely. The city was a mess, in short. Benders have been running it on their whims, disregarding their fellow citizens and now a non-bending ( _“non-bending”_ that is) , radical madman had stepped into the void in response. _Compromise_ was imperative in a culture so intermixed, but at this point no one was stepping up with that viewpoint and until someone did, the city would get worse before it got better. She could not help but wonder if she, and Aang by extension, could have done more to ensure its balance in the years after his death before Korra could properly inherit his duties.

It was too late for such thoughts, however. The city was at war. The Equalists had laid down the gauntlet, attacking the pro-bending arena. Benders especially loved the sport and Amon's attack would deal a huge blow to their morale. Raava could only be glad for small favors after such a resounding defeat. At least Korra and her friends and allies had made it out relatively unscathed. Minor wounds and a bruised ego at both Amon's fairly easy escape and losing at the hands of the cheating Wolf-bats were all that was there to report. Though at the time Raava was miffed for Korra's sake in their loss of the match. Blatant cheating and if things were different, she would have hoped for an inquiry. If only that was the most Raava could be upset about. She very much preferred getting worked up by the little things in her Avatars' lives rather than humans like these terrorists. It only proved to her, once _again,_ that her work was not even close to being done and likely never would be.

Hiroshi Sato's revelation was yet another reminder. The man had taken very careful lengths to seem like he was innocent in this Equalist debacle. He had lured Korra, Tenzin and Lin into a very carefully constructed trap. While Raava was as certain as Korra had been of his involvement after her friend's eavesdropping, she had been blind-sighted by the set up just as they were. Korra seemed to have made some very good friends, fortunately. Raava was always glad for her Avatar's friends. They were always people with strong moral convictions and have saved her Avatars very lives time and again when needed. Mako and Bolin coming to save her friends was no surprise given the bond the three now shared after their own run in with the Equalists (though Korra certainly endangered that with her teenage angst; fortunately they were able to move past _that_ mess).

No, it was Asami that had been the real surprise. Raava was beginning to suspect the girl had ties with the Equalists just like her father. She felt like that was a logical conclusion after all. If Hiroshi had lost his wife to a bender and grew to hate them all, Raava could only assume that he would ensure his daughter was protected from his nightmares at all costs. It would have made sense that he would include her in his plans. The Equalists could have taught her to defend herself against all benders with chi-blocking. The girl could have even possibly hated benders as well considering her mother had been murdered by one. She could have easily been dating Mako as a ruse to spy on Korra.

But none of those guesses had been true. Raava had truly misjudged the girl just as Korra had, though in a far different manner. In a way, Korra had been the far more open-minded of them both. Her assumptions of Asami were purely based in jealousy. In her eyes, Asami was the far more attractive of the two (really Raava hoped someone would help Korra with her self-doubt and issues with inadequacy; they were invading practically every aspect of her life and it was unhealthy) and _of course_ Mako would go for her. She was rich, beautiful and girly, everything Korra at the very least _thought_ she wasn't. Yet despite her friend's depressing lack of self-worth and jealousy, she had never once considered the idea that Asami might be just as guilty as her father was. In fact, Korra had began to see her as an actual person rather than her competition.

Despite her friend's unconscious faith in who Raava was now confident would prove to be another friend for her, Korra was just as surprised by Asami's actions. Korra understood family. Even if Tonraq and Senna didn't live with her full time at the compound, her parents had ensured they were firmly in their daughter's life. They loved each other unconditionally and Korra had feared that Asami would choose her father over Mako and his friends. But she hadn't.

Instead Asami had been responsible for their escape, turning her back on Hiroshi and losing the last of her family. It was tragic and Korra seemed to realize that. Raava was proud of her friend for pushing her feelings for Mako aside and encouraging him to comfort the other girl. Korra was capable of so much compassion and Raava hoped to see more of this side of her friend as she grew older.

The group of humans were now at the police station with Chief Beifong taken to the hospital. Apparently the city officials very much wanted to know why their chief of police raided the mansion of one of Republic City's wealthiest inhabitants. They were being taken one by one into another room to give statements about tonight's events and it was now Mako's turn. He had been comforting Asami as best as he knew how up to this point and with his absence the room became awkward, especially with Tenzin having gone to speak with the council.

“Psst,” Bolin hissed at Korra noticeably. The earthbender really had no concept of subtlety. He pointed at Asami and shrugged his shoulders awkwardly. Asami was too caught up in her own emotions, staring at the wall in front of her looking a little lost, to notice the boy's appalling lack of tact.

Korra really didn't know what to do with the other girl either. She had certainly meant her offer to live at Air Temple Island but beyond that, it wasn't as if her friend had much experience in soothing distraught people what with the compound stifling the growth of more nuanced social cues.

“Are you okay,” Korra eventually settled for and then promptly realized the terrible question for what it was. “Well, I mean, of course you aren't _okay,_ but I just meant it in- uh, you know what? Never mind. Um, I was actually wondering if Mako told you that you could come live on Air Temple Island.”

Asami had snapped to attention when Korra addressed her and gave her a wan smile at the Avatar's fumbling. “Yeah, he mentioned it. Thank you for the offer. I think I'll take you up on it.”

“That's good,” Bolin interjected. “It's probably a good thing you won't be at your mansion by yourself. I mean, what if your dad built even more of those creepy tunnels? He could totally use them to sneak in and-”

“Bolin! Shut up!” Korra snapped in dismay. Bolin realized what he was saying as well and clapped his hands over his mouth. Raava knew he was a sweet boy, but goodness he was even _worse_ than Korra was in some social situations.

“It's okay. He's probably right, anyway,” Asami stated bitterly.

“I'm sorry this happened, Asami. For what it's worth, I didn't want to be right about your dad,” Korra offered sadly.

“I didn't want you to be right either. I was so _mad_ at you for even suggesting that he was an Equalist. It just didn't make sense to me, he never even _hinted_ that he hated benders after my mother was killed. Mom... she didn't believe in that. She would've hated that he joined the Equalists for her,” Asami said softly. “I'm sorry.”

“Hey, come on.... You didn't know about your dad,” Bolin told her gently. “I mean, Mako and I were kinda mad at Korra too, so it's not like you were on your own there. We thought she was just-”

Korra kicked him in the shin roughly. Both Raava and Korra agreed that it would be less than helpful if Asami learned of Korra's crush on Mako now of all times. Raava knew her friend probably figured that she could keep her feelings a secret from the other girl indefinitely, but Raava was far less idealistic. These kinds of things had a penchant for turning messy. Humans were notoriously hormonal during their teenage years and they were nothing but dramatic about practically anything involving sexuality. Still, that could come _later._ When poor Asami had a chance to recover from her father's betrayal and practically losing her home. No sense in kicking the girl while she was down.

“Ow! What was that-”

“Bolin's right. You have nothing to be sorry for. I get why you would be mad at me too. We didn't exactly get off on the right foot. I told you I thought you were kinda prissy, but you definitely proved me wrong. So, _I'm_ sorry for that,” Korra said sheepishly.

Asami had been looking at both of them in bemusement for Korra's very obvious interruption but decided not to press the issue, apparently. Raava didn't know if it was because of her seemingly boundless sense of class or because Korra and her friend were weird. Both were equally plausible and she couldn't blame Asami for thinking either thought.

“I told you I was more than a daddy's little girl,” Asami said instead with only a faint smug tone.

“I'll say! You took out Mustache Guy like it was nothing,” Bolin grinned. “That was awesome.”

“Yeah, he's been kicking me and Mako and Bolin's butts,” Korra added.

“Really? I one-upped the Avatar and two pro-bending stars?” Asami teased.

“I don't know if I'd say _that,”_ Korra just couldn't help her pride sometimes. Raava hoped that the girl had gained a little more humility after suffering two resounding defeats this week, but apparently her spirit just couldn't be tempered. “You got the drop on him this time. He was ready for me when I fought him at the arena and I'd say I won that fight.”

“No way! That was definitely a tie,” Bolin argued. “You fell through the roof and if Chief Beifong hadn't been there, you would've been a goner.”

“What? I knocked him _off_ the roof before I even fell through. That's definitely a win!”

“Yeah, but Asami knocked him flat in _seconds_. That's way better than your fight and he saw her shock her dad, so he couldn't have been that surprised.”

Both were forced to stop arguing when Asami suddenly started laughing. Raava could tell that Korra didn't know whether to be miffed that the other girl was laughing at them or feel good that she had apparently inadvertently cheered Asami up with her antics.

“You two are dorks,” Asami finally said and Raava wasn't inclined to disagree with her, especially when the Sato girl said it with such fondness. “Thank you for everything. I really don't know what I would have done if I had to find this out on my own.”

“Probably still would have beat up those Equalists and escaped,” Korra admitted.

“Yeah, but I didn't mean that. Just... thanks for being here and not thinking I was an Equalist too.”

An officer appeared at that moment to escort Mako back into the room. He called Asami to interview next and that put an end to their conversation. Raava could feel that Korra was conflicted with her thoughts on Asami. She certainly was beginning to actually like the other girl finally, but there was now a sense of guilt in her thoughts about her. Korra couldn't tell if she never entertained the idea that Asami could be an Equalist because of her being nothing but nice to her and her friends the entire time Korra had known her, or that she simply hadn't thought of Asami in complicated terms whatsoever before today. Before, Asami was simply Korra's competition for Mako. Asami couldn't be anything _but_ a rich, high society, prissy girl. Probably vapid, Mako could do much better than her. But now she knew that she couldn't be any farther from the truth.

Raava didn't know how this would affect Korra going further. Certainly Asami Sato had proven herself to be a friend and ally, but that meant that Mako had plenty reason to like the girl now. Korra had low self-esteem before now, Raava hoped that she wouldn't be selfish enough to allow Asami's actions to affect her negatively. As it stood, Asami had certainly come out the loser today all things considered. She had taken an admirable stand for what was right and this moment would likely play a positive role in her life ultimately, but tonight? Tonight had certainly hurt her and Raava hoped that Korra would be wise enough to see that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went ahead and skipped right to The Aftermath. I have to admit that I suspected that this would happen. I rewatched And The Winner Is... and virtually nothing of importance came to me in that episode. Don't get me wrong, it's a good plot episode, but I don't think it's a better episode on Korra's growth as a character than episode 7 is and Raava is much more interesting to write when she's reacting to Korra.
> 
> That out of the way, I thought it was really weird that Asami and Korra get along so well in the next episode when Asami is moving in. Of course they're a little awkward with each other, but that's what happens when little sisters drop bombshells like that. Trust me, I know that from personal experience and that's one of my favorite moments in the show as a result. I figured the Krew had to have ushered the elephant that is "Asami's dad is an EQUALIST and she attacked him!" out of the room at some point and unfortunately I felt Mako's presence would make Korra too awkward around Asami to speak as freely with her as I had her do here.


	8. Calm

**Calm**

There were two of them. Raava now wished Aang had convinced the council to imprison Yakone anyway, bending or not. It would have made this entire fiasco moot more than likely. Of course, that was assuming that Yakone had children after his banishment. Tarrlok was probably young enough to have come after, but Amon was a mystery. At any rate, Korra had finally made a connection with Aang. She now knew that there were bloodbenders with amazing ability. If only she had come to the conclusion that Raava and Aang had actually meant. Once again, Raava cursed Tarrlok. The man was an immeasurable nuisance. Undermining Korra's confidence, manipulating a girl far younger than himself into challenging terrorists (whether that was ultimately Korra's foolish decision was irrelevant; he placed her in the position in the first place), and now muddying the message Korra truly needed.

Tarrlok was gone now. Ironically, it was Amon that disposed of him. The damage was done, however. Tarrlok was a threat now gone, but Amon was still here and Korra had no idea that Amon was actually a bender. She was still blind and Raava wished desperately that Korra could speak to Aang directly. He could warn her and she would be able to act accordingly. The Equalist threat had only grown more dangerous. Raava knew it was only a matter of time until they would move directly, instead of hiding in the shadows. If there were any a time to undermine their movement, it was now.

At least her friend had escaped. For once, Korra realized she was utterly outmatched. Perhaps it was ultimately a good thing that Amon had ambushed her those weeks ago. He had let her know then that he was a far greater threat than she realized. It seemed wisdom was coming to her brash friend piece by piece. Raava had not truly been relieved though until Naga had found Korra. She was endlessly loyal and she would ensure that their Avatar would make it to safety, which she did.

Korra was now back at Air Temple Island. Mako had carried her to the nearest empty room and Korra's friends now seemed unsure of what to do now that they had found their missing companion.

“What do you think Tarrlok did to her?” Bolin asked uneasily.

“I don't know, but we should be quiet. Korra needs her sleep,” Mako snapped.

This was probably the most lighthearted development of the day. Mako was being interestingly overprotective of Korra. Raava had noticed it immediately when the boy had carried her to Tenzin's sky bison in his arms. Korra, of course, was not about to protest his actions any time soon, but neither seemed to notice Asami at all.

“Mako, she's passed out. She'll be fine,” Asami told him. Her tone was just bordering waspish. Raava wondered just how much this girl was going to lose before she grew angry. It was for her sake that she couldn't be as happy for Korra's choice in a relationship as she was for Avatars' past. Korra never did anything the easy way. Her Avatar had an ability to make everything harder than it needed to be.

“What? She can't be fine if she's passed out,” Mako growled back. “We should just give her some space and time to sleep.”

“You're the one hovering over her. I'm going to lie down.” Mako didn't seem to notice her barely repressed anger.

Bolin, however did.

“Mako, um… look, I know you've been scared for Korra, we all have, but I'm just thinking…. You know, it might be a good idea to talk to Asami,” he said as carefully as he was able.

“Why? She's fine,” Mako said shortly.

“Um… no… I _really_ don't think she is. You know, I'm not _at all_ sure why she's upset, but she kinda is right now and it might be a good idea to talk to her. I mean, she just lost her dad and we broke into that Equalist base…. Yeah, _yeah,_ that's probably it. I mean, it's probably a good idea to see how she's been holding up. It can't have been easy seeing what her dad's a part of again,” Bolin was hiding something. The boy was really quite easy to read, but Mako only seemed to have thoughts for Korra and was shockingly oblivious to his brother's antics.

Mako sighed. “I'll talk to her in a little while. Things have just gotten so crazy lately. Why don't you go see if she's alright for me?”

“I don't know about that, bro. I'm not exactly good at the whole, 'How are you feeling after your dad betrayed you?' speech,” Bolin laughed uncomfortably. Well, it was good to know that he realized just how awkward he could be in conversation.

“That's probably why you should _not_ mention it like that, Bo,” Mako said wryly. “Look, just ask her how she's feeling. She doesn't even have to tell you about it. It'll just be good to have someone for her to talk to.”

“Well, I know, it's just…. I think it would make her feel even better if it came from you. Mako, I can watch Korra for you while you check on Asami. It's okay, she'll be fine.”

“All right. Just… don't be too loud,” Mako ordered as he left the room.

Bolin waited exactly three seconds before he jumped out of his chair and looked outside the room. He almost slammed the door shut again before remembering that Korra was asleep before he came back to sit at her bedside. Young people. They acted so oddly.

“Korra, you have _no_ idea how awkward this was. Geez, I knew that kiss was a bad idea. I mean, sure, at first I thought that because I figured I was a good catch for you, but now the awkward's just jumped to, like, a code red or something. _Asami knows!_ I really wish you were awake right now. It's actually easier to tell you this because you can't get mad about me telling her, but what was I supposed to say when she asked me straight up if there was something between you and Mako? You _know_ I'm a terrible liar, and really this is all you and Mako's fault to begin with. Ugh!”

Raava could relate. This really was a right mess now. Poor Bolin, he was right that this was all Korra and Mako's doing and he was caught right in the middle. Hopefully things would pan out, either in Asami or Korra's favor, Raava really didn't care right now, because otherwise this could get in the way of the friendships Korra has made. Raava has witnessed endless messy love triangles and they really weren't particularly gripping the hundredth time around. Not when she was perfectly aware of the worst ways humans could react to being scorned.

Really though, there were much bigger things to worry about. Raava still did not know how Korra was to save the city from the Equalist uprising. They were growing more and more bold. It surely was not a good sign that Amon had taken a councilman captive and despite Tarrlok being a terrible person, he probably did not deserve his fate. With Hiroshi Sato bankrolling them, and their growing confidence, it was only a matter of time before they did something drastic. Raava certainly had not forgotten just how ill prepared Korra, Tenzin and Lin had been against the mecha-tanks Hiroshi had built. This was the calm before the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A light-hearted chapter before things turn super serious for the end of Book 1. On the one hand, I think it would have been funny if we got to see more of Bolin's reaction to the love triangle business, but on the other, I'm glad the plot took precedence because the love triangle takes up a LARGE amount of space in Book 1. Though, I suppose that's what a missing scenes fic is for. At any rate, I hope I didn't make Asami too waspish. My intent was to have her more upset with Mako than Korra. I know she's glad they found her, but seriously, Asami does not have it easy in the first two Books of the show. (And the series finale.) The world kinda likes to take a dump on her, and I wanted to get at the fact that she HAS to be more than a little miffed about Mako's behavior after the fiasco with her father and losing her home and all of the Sato assets are probably frozen, and Future Industry's stock has probably dropped like a meteor coming down to earth. Basically, girl's under a lot of stress and she's damn classy in the show about it all, so I wanted to explore a slightly less composed Asami.


	9. Hide

**Hide**

Raava was tired of losing. It was never pleasant, not to mention she had been partnered with a reincarnation that was particularly competitive. Raava and Korra's sense of defeat were echoing off each other today and the last time Raava had felt this stung was The Day of Black Sun and that utterly demoralizing loss. Still, at least losing the city to the Equalists was hopefully temporary. Tenzin had said that he had gotten a wire sent off to the United Forces.

This was simply unbelievable. She had known that these terrorists were moving into their final plans, but Raava had never anticipated that they would be _this_ organized and coordinated. Perhaps that was the city's downfall. Everyone had underestimated the Equalists and now Republic City was under siege, Tenzin had been forced to evacuate his family and Korra and her friends were on the run. Raava felt that there simply _had_ to have been stronger signs that this movement was so much more dangerous than anyone guessed. She had overlooked something, there was no way a radical terrorist group could be this effective while completely covering their tracks. Of course, that was irrelevant now.

“What do we do now?” Bolin asked as they walked deeper into the sewer tunnel that Korra had Naga swim to.

“We've got to hide somewhere until General Iroh can get here with his fleet,” Mako answered. “There has to be somewhere we can go.”

“Maybe the Triple Threats have a hideout we can go to,” Bolin said hopefully.

Raava didn't know where they would go, but she certainly didn't want to hide out with triad hoodlums if she could help it. Besides, Korra wasn't exactly the best of friends with them what with their fight on her first day in the city.

“If the Equalists haven't captured them all, then they're going to be one of the first people Amon will go after,” Asami argued. “My dad was sure to notice when the newspapers started to report the triads were disappearing.”

“Well then where are we supposed to go?” Mako asked her in frustration.

“I don't know,” she snapped back.

They had been growing increasingly ill-tempered toward each other. Neither were anywhere close to flat out arguing in public, but both Korra and Bolin were starting to notice that all was not well between the two. Raava guessed they had finally argued about Mako's behavior towards Korra. She hoped they could hold it together for now. It was not a good time for fighting.

“I have an idea,” Korra said suddenly. And it was a good idea, Raava quickly surmised. She wouldn't have even guessed going back to the park, but it seems Republic City's unfortunate citizens had a more lasting impact on Korra than she would have predicted.

“What is it?” Mako asked.

“We need to get to the park, come on before the Equalists spread too much through the city,” and with that Korra started running toward what she best guessed the park's direction would be. She happened to be correct this time, Tonraq had made sure to teach his daughter to familiarize herself with her surroundings after that foolish trek through the tundra all those years ago.

“Is that a good idea? We'd be out in broad daylight, they could see us. Tenzin said we should stay hidden,” Mako called out as he and the others ran after her Avatar in surprise.

“We're sitting turtle-ducks if we stay here. I think I know someone that can help us. He probably knows the city better than anyone,” Korra told them.

She didn't offer up any more explanation, to the frustration of the rest of the group. Korra was too busy being cautious for once. Checking each tunnel before running into it and looking to Naga to ensure the polar bear-dog did not smell anyone. She had certainly come a long way since coming to Republic City.

It took time, trying to find the nearest manhole to Republic City Park, but they eventually did it. They had to pause to allow some Equalist forces to pass before trying to attempt leaving the sewers.

“So, who is this guy?” Mako whispered. He had been trying to ask Korra questions for the last hour. None of the others particularly liked being left in the dark.

“His name is Gommu. I met him on my first day here.”

“What's he do? How do you know he can help us?” Asami asked.

“I don't really, but he knew his way around the streets and I think he's our best shot at the moment,” Korra whispered back.

Of course, this wasn't too comforting for the others and Raava noticed them all exchange uneasy looks. By now, all of Korra's friends were familiar with her 'act now, ask questions later' approach. Certainly Raava didn't exactly blame them for questioning Korra, but this time such an approach would probably pay off and her friend had a point. They had no other options at this time.

“Are you sure about this? What if he can't help us? What if we're spotted? I think we should try going to the outer boroughs, the Equalists are sure to be spread thin there,” Mako suggested.

“We could try hiding out in one of my dad's properties. We own a lot of buildings in the city, it will be hard for him to check them all,” Asami offered.

“No, we need to be near the bay so we can see when the United Forces arrive. Plus, we can't be sure how many of your dad's buildings are being used by the Equalists to begin with,” Korra answered distractedly. “They're gone, come on.”

They somehow made it into the park unnoticed. It was quite a feat, what with being the four most wanted people in the city at the moment, not to mention the fact that Naga stood out being the only polar bear-dog in the city, let alone the continent. Korra led her friends to the center of the park, towards the lake, keeping a close eye for any Equalists.

“Okay, I don't exactly remember which bush he lives in. It's a nice looking one though. Keep an eye out for the uh… most beauteous one, I guess.”

At this, her friends stopped and looked at Korra in disbelief.

“Korra, is Gommu _homeless_?!” Asami exclaimed.

“Yeah, Korra, I think I'm with Asami on this one,” Bolin added. “I mean, don't get me wrong, he's probably a nice guy, but me and Mako know better than most people that homeless people don't exactly have, um, places to live. To hide, you know?”

“Why didn't you _say_ anything?” Mako demanded. “We could have told you this was a bad idea!”

“Hey! It's not like any of you have a better idea,” Korra said defensively, “I'm just trying to get some ideas on what to do. I'm the one that's actually met him and when I got arrested, I met some other people that knew how the city worked. They knew how to get around, and I'm sure Gommu does too.”

“Well, if it isn't Miss Korra!” a voice exclaimed happily from the depths of the bush behind Korra. Indeed, it happened to be the most beauteous one. All four of the teenagers gasped in shock as Gommu's head poked out suddenly. Raava was glad for his interruption. They were sure to be spotted if they kept arguing with each other in the middle of the park.

“Gommu, I'm glad to see you!” Korra greeted.

“I wish I could say the same, my friend. Those Equalists have been tearing up the city. You should skedaddle while you have the chance!”

“Actually, that's why we're here. They've overtaken Air Temple Island. We've been forced into hiding for now. I was hoping you would be able to help us,” Korra explained quickly.

“Indeed I can! Come, step inside my humble abode and I'll introduce you to everyone. They'll be happy to know you're alright,” Gommu grinned as his head slipped back into the leaves.

Both Raava and Korra were curious about this particular bush now. It didn't appear to be much, besides being obviously well groomed, but it seemed it was more than met the eye if Gommu was so attached to it.

Mako, Bolin and Asami were not so convinced.

“I knew this was a bad idea. Korra, this guy's not all there,” Mako hissed.

“Yeah, I don't see how a bush is going to help us. It is a nice one though. Much better than some of the garbage piles we've slept in. Mako, we should have thought of this years ago,” Bolin said thoughtfully.

“Guys, relax. It'll be fine, come on,” Korra told them.

“How are you so sure?” Asami said doubtfully.

Korra shrugged. Raava was certain the rest of Team Avatar were close to throttling their friend. They didn't have the same experiences Raava had, and Korra by extension even if she didn't quite remember. Sometimes the most unlikely of people were the most helpful. Like a blind earthbending child. Or a previous arch-nemesis too obsessed with his honor.

They had no choice but to follow Korra and Gommu, however, and found the homeless man gesturing proudly to a large boulder nestled behind the bush.

“Would you please do the honors, Miss Korra?”

Korra regarded the boulder curiously for a moment before earthbending it out of the way, revealing a hole large enough for them all to fit through. Naga was going to be a tight fit though. She seemed to realize this and whined begrudgingly.

“Well, you might as well get it over with, girl,” Korra told her sympathetically. “I'll try to make it a little bigger.”

It wasn't much, Korra didn't want to damage Gommu's entrance and Naga huffed in displeasure. Raava thought they needed to move faster. There was no guessing when the Equalists would begin patrolling the city. They had to be close to gaining complete control.

“Don't be a baby.”

Naga predictably didn't take that well and flicked Korra rudely with her tail before clambering in. She could really be a drama queen when she wanted to be. Raava thought she and Korra had that in common.

“Ugh, okay, everyone get in,” Korra said as she wiped polar bear-dog fur from her mouth. The others shared one last doubtful look before following Naga and Gommu inside. Korra jumped in after them and sealed the entrance to Gommu's hideout.

Which was much more impressive than any of them could have predicted. Raava had no idea why the city had made their sewer system so huge or why city officials didn't seem to know that the homeless were living within them, but right now she was happy for their incompetence. It had allowed these people to carve out a life for themselves in a place that has been quite unfair to them and provided a perfect hideout.

“Whoa,” Bolin whistled appreciatively. “Mako, I think we definitely should have tried sleeping in the park.”

“And you guys thought I was crazy,” Korra said smugly. “Come on, we should tell them what's going on. See if they can help us any further.”

Asami and Mako were forced to sheepishly apologize to their friend, but Raava didn't hold it against them and neither did Korra, truthfully, beyond giving them an 'I told you so,' look. Neither Raava or Korra had expected Gommu to be the de facto head of a shanty town. They just had a good feeling about him. This truly had them both in good spirits again. Raava knew it wasn't much, but it was much better than being stranded in the sewers. If they could find good fortune here, in such a dark time, then perhaps they stood a good chance at defeating Amon after all.

Of course, Raava still had no idea how she and Korra were going to do that. It was the most frustrating problem about this foe. Raava knew that Amon was a bloodbender. Korra _still_ did not, curse Tarrlok, and she wasn't sure if she would be able to impart that knowledge to Korra before it was too late. Her Avatar was being frustratingly thick-headed about their connection, no matter if it was unintentional on her part. Raava had certainly taken her connection with Aang for granted. It had been so _easy_ for Roku to reach him in comparison. She was beginning to fear for her friend. Raava wanted to help her, and it was becoming frustrating to watch passively with the others.

At least they were safe for the moment. Hopefully Korra would take this time to rest. Perhaps she would meditate (though Raava did not have much hope for that; Korra still found the exercise frustrating) and they could both try to establish a better connection. Unfortunately, Raava could not help but fear that her hopes would be fruitless. Why would Korra try to reach Aang for answers that she did not know she needed?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter came as a bit of a surprise to me. I figured I was for sure moving into much more serious territory, but... they're hiding out in a secret shanty town underneath the park. How on earth did Korra manage to convince her friends that the homeless man at the park was a good answer to their problems? And why would they be okay with just following her what with the fact that Gommu's bush looks just like a bush. (A beauteous one, nonetheless, but it's a bush....) No one could have guessed he was hiding the entrance behind it, so here we are.


	10. Truth

**Truth**

Tarrlok was simply full of surprises. Raava originally thought the man a useless nuisance, intent on getting in Korra's way, but things were very different now. Raava knew he was related to Yakone and already suspected he was a direct relative, likely his son, after his bloodbending outside of a full moon. Very few people had that ability, perhaps only Yakone's family line. She had not found anyone else with it after searching through more of her past Avatar's memories in the hopes of finding a way to defeat Amon.

And she was still no closer in that endeavor. This was probably one of the single greatest frustrating problems Raava has ever seen and she has seen thousands through her Avatars. Trying to defeat Ozai was difficult, especially with Sozin's comet, but at least Aang had finally found a way to defeat the Fire Lord without killing him. This time, however? Raava had known about energy bending, bloodbending that could imitate the results of energybending was simply unheard of as far as she knew.

Tarrlok was the one who had finally given Korra a chance though. Raava had not seen this development coming whatsoever. Not after he had originally foiled her attempt to warn Korra of Amon when the stupid man revealed himself as a bloodbender in the first place. He had actually told Korra and Mako of his and Amon's story and it had been very informative. Not in the sense of defeating Amon traditionally, unfortunately, but it was nice to know _why_ the madman was terrorizing the city. Raava found him to be utterly hypocritical, but she supposed growing up with an abusive father tended to leave some scars that caused one to act irrationally. At any rate, Tarrlok finally redeemed himself at least partially. This time, Raava could actually pity him for the sad person that he was. It didn't erase his crimes, certainly, but she was a little more sympathetic to him now. She was still angry with him about that kidnapping attempt though. What in the world had he been thinking when he tried _that?!_

It was Korra that had come up with their first solution of the conflict. Undermine Amon by revealing the truth. How she planned to do this, Raava did not know yet and she wasn't too sure if they would be able to. Still, it was the first answer anyone has come up with thus far and probably better than attempting nothing. Like it or not, the Equalist movement was political in nature. Even if Korra defeated Amon, somehow, in a straight fight it was entirely likely that the rest of the Equalists would still be sympathetic to Amon's movement. Non-benders have been abused too long in Republic City. That would have to be addressed soon after this was all over. If not, then what was to stop men like Hiroshi Sato from trying to pick up the pieces and starting over?

“Korra?” Mako asked hesitantly and interrupted Raava's worrying.

“Yeah?”

Neither were sure what he wanted at the moment. Things were getting awkward between the teenagers. Indeed, it was more than a little awkward between all of the members of Team Avatar with the exception of Bolin. It seems Asami and Mako did actually argue about Korra at some point, since they were becoming even more open with the issues in their relationship. In all honesty, Raava hoped that Mako would make up his mind soon. If only because Raava couldn't stand all of the teenage angst that she was surrounded with all of the time recently. Korra did seem to really like Mako, and Raava knew that he had a good heart, but his relationship choices were less than ideal at the moment. Something she chalked up to immaturity on Korra and Mako's parts. It was becoming clearer by the day that Korra should not have tried to court the boy while he was involved with someone else.

“I just wanted to say that whatever happens…. Well, um…,” Mako stuttered. He wasn't the type of human that was in tune with his emotions, it seemed. Mix that with Korra's unfortunate past of being sheltered in the South Pole and things tended to take a turn for the worst between the two in emotionally charged situations.

“Mako, I think we should probably talk about this later. I mean, you and Asami…,” Korra trailed off.

Well, perhaps Korra's time with people her own age has helped her social skills more than Raava would have guessed. She knew this would happen over time, but she wouldn't have known it would happen so quickly. This Korra was certainly different than the one that had rashly kissed a boy in a relationship.

To be honest, Raava did hope they would talk about this later. They were currently walking back toward the city along Yue Bay's floor, but she didn't think it would hurt to focus at the moment. There was no telling how many mines could be in the water or whether or not all of them had detonated after the failed battle between the United Forces and the Equalists. That had been a disappointment that Raava hasn't felt in a long time. At least they had managed to rescue General Iroh and Raava dearly hoped that Asami would be able to stop her father. That man was becoming an even greater annoyance than Tarrlok, which Raava thought was saying something.

“We… well, we broke up, Korra,” Mako continued after a moment of silence.

“Oh.”

It was all Korra could think to say at the moment. She was surprised that Mako had broken up with the other girl. In her eyes, Asami was easily the better of the two choices that Mako had. Smart, pretty and rich, she was everything Korra wasn't. It didn't even cross her mind that Korra had attributes that Asami could not claim either. Though why Korra didn't think she was pretty or smart was beyond Raava. Honestly, the silly girl needed to work on her self-confidence. If anything good has come out of this love triangle, perhaps the knowledge that Mako has chosen her instead will help with that.

“I thought you'd like to know. I know things have probably been awkward between you two,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. Apparently he hoped for more than just 'oh,' from Korra.

“Actually, things have been pretty okay between us,” Korra told him. Really, they were. It went beyond Raava's expectations. Apparently Asami was almost determined to focus her ire on Mako specifically. The only source of awkward between the two girls was that they both knew why Asami and Mako were fighting and that they knew they probably should be more uncomfortable with each other than they were.

“Oh.”

“Look, I… uh, I meant what I said last night and that time at the match. I want to talk about what's between us and this is good to know, but we should probably talk about this after all of… this,” Korra said carefully.

“Yeah. You're probably right. I just wanted to let you know that whatever happens with Amon, I care about you.”

Korra grinned. This was probably the best news she had been given all week and it was nice to have her happy about _something_ for once. She certainly needed the morale boost right now.

“I care about you too. I do want to talk about us, but I guess it's something for us to hold on to until we beat Amon.”

Mako grinned back at her and suddenly, the uncomfortable, awkward air between the two became rather sweet. Raava wasn't sure how they did it. One moment they were arguing about _something_ or they were creating some very cringe worthy moments like earlier and the next they were getting along fine. She couldn't help but wonder if this was an omen for things to come or if they would become more accustomed to each other's quirks and adapt. She hoped for the latter else this relationship was going to become emotionally tiring for everyone involved.

At any rate, they had finally made it across the bay and were trying to find a spot to enter the city inconspicuously. Perhaps Korra was right, and this would inspire them both to succeed at what they were about to do. It wasn't going to be easy to undermine the Equalist movement. Raava doubted it would go as Korra probably thought it would. Thus far, Amon has been frustratingly ahead of them in every move they made. If he didn't have a way to at least _try_ to counter any accusations Korra leveled at him, then Raava would be shocked. The man was irritatingly intelligent.

Above all, both Korra and Raava feared the worst case scenario. Finally learning that Amon was a bloodbender didn't change the fact that he could take people's bending somehow in Korra's eyes and Raava was glad for that. Hopefully it would make the girl cautious enough to come out of this unscathed. Losing her bending was what Korra feared the most and Raava knew it was because she placed so much stock of herself in her ability to be a good Avatar. It made her wish that she could tell her friend she was doing a great job. It probably didn't feel that way to her, but this conflict was unlike anything any of her past lives had faced before. Raava truly didn't expect her to have all the right answers. Especially since she hardly had them herself.

At this point, all they could do was hope that their plan would succeed, and if it didn't, that they could still prevail though improvisation. If it was one thing she had learned about her Avatars through their many lives was that they were often good at thinking of ways to succeed on the spot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, still not as serious as I thought it would be, but I wanted to address this. When exactly does Mako tell Korra that he and Asami have been over? In the finale, they kiss and affirm the start of their relationship, but they don't address whether or not Korra is aware that Asami is out of the picture. I know that Korra was coming up from a very low point emotionally and in all actuality, she probably wasn't thinking about Asami at the time at all. Which is why I decided to write this. I don't like the cards Asami gets dealt in the show. I really don't. I mean, don't get me wrong, the stuff about her dad I do like. It's very interesting and I'm a bit of a masochist when it comes to family tragedy. I like seeing the fallout for those kinds of things. 
> 
> No, I'm talking about the love triangle. I will be frank and say that I don't like love triangles when they are originate from jealousy. It makes absolutely everyone involved look petty and vindictive, which doesn't seem right to me. In this episode, E11, Korra actually ends the conversation she had with Mako before it can go too far and he kisses her. Asami refuses to be angry with Korra. They both seem to think of each other before acting when it comes to Mako once Korra learns that Asami is actually a person in E7 and Asami learns that Korra wasn't trying to actively be mean to her in that same episode with her dad. So this scene comes to be in my mind. Plus, I want to give Mako the benefit of the doubt. He treats Asami so badly in their relationship, but at the same time I truly don't think he's a bad person. (Just a dumb one in this moment.) At some point, for my sanity, I think he really tries to FINALLY do right by her and doesn't allow Korra to think that she kisses Asami's boyfriend again.


	11. Sever

**Sever**

It was just like Amon to be one step ahead of everyone. Again. Raava honestly did not know what she or her Avatars must have done to anger fate, but she was so very _tired_ of this. It was ridiculous. The man literally thought of the scenario of someone either unmasking him or revealing his actual past and disguised himself accordingly.

He even managed to capture Tenzin and his children. Dread filled Korra and Raava equally as they slowly rose to join the terrorists on the impromptu stage. This was simply madness. How did things come to this? There were _children_ being threatened and no one besides Mako and Korra were batting an eye. There were thousands of people here, yet no one seemed appalled by what Amon was planning to do. Raava supposed this all went back to a lack of empathy on both sides. Benders did not realize just how they were making their non-bending counterparts in the city feel every time they stacked opportunities in their favor. Non-benders could not grasp that this was essentially an act of genocide they were witnessing and abetting because they could not understand just how much bending meant to those with the ability. How the touch of the elements could color a bender's identity and culture.

And this was much more exaggerated for the Air Nomads. _Every_ citizen born in their culture had been a bender and so far, Tenzin's family seemed to embody that ancient, and almost feared lost, fact. They were the last vestiges of a culture that Raava herself felt responsible for failing once before. The fact that Aang had been her last Avatar had driven in the sting of loss even more. Raava would not fail them again.

Korra and Mako blasted into motion, in a last ditch effort to save the family. They both knew what was at stake and the fact that Korra considered Aang's family nearly her own drove her nearly to desperation. The crowd _finally_ screamed in horror as the Avatar and her friend landed on the stage in a flurry of heat and righteous fury. Their concern only for their safety yet another bitter reminder of just how badly the city was out of balance.

“Where are Pema and the baby?” Korra asked urgently as she welded her way through the chains holding Tenzin hostage.

Yes, where _were_ Pema and the baby? The Equalists were obviously not above harming children and Raava shuddered at the thought of what these awful humans could have done with an infant they may not wish to devote the effort into waiting for his bending to manifest. Just what were the effects of debending a child so young?

“In prison,” Tenzin thankfully answered. At least he knew where they were and if Amon had wanted Tenzin present for the debending his other children, Raava hardly thought the man would have him miss the terrorist doing the same to Rohan if that had been his decision.

There was probably only one single silver lining to the fact that there were only four airbenders in the world at the moment. No one knew how to properly fight them as other benders could hardly spar against them considering their rarity. Tenzin cleared the stage in a manner of moments, even Amon had not thought of a contingency for him and that made Raava spitefully happy. Quickly, Korra led them off the stage and into the corridor, urging Tenzin to flee with his family while she and Mako distracted Amon.

Raava hoped she had a plan, but she knew Korra liked to play things by ear. She was proven right as she and Mako tried desperately to hide from Amon in a storage room as if they were playing a sick game of hide-and-go-seek. This had been a bad idea. She wasn't even upset with Korra's lack of foresight. This Equalist uprising was so utterly ridiculous. _No one_ in the entire city had noticed the signs, Korra was reaping the results of a meticulously planned rebellion that was formed while she was a child. Things like this didn't happen over night and just like other Avatars before her, Korra was forced into inheriting a problem she wasn't even present for in its infancy. Combine that with the fact that Amon's bloodbending talent was so (ridiculous, everything about this was ridiculous) rare and not even Raava knew just _what_ Korra and Mako were supposed to do about him.

If only Korra was more spiritual. Was that truly Korra's fault as well? The White Lotus had been working with the girl for thirteen years, in all that time they couldn't get her to touch even one of her past lives _once?_ Not even a dream? A whisper of contact between Korra and Aang? Was this anyone's fault? Raava didn't think this should have been so hard, even accounting for the White Lotus's possible incompetence. Regardless, Korra was without the Avatar State, without her help and Raava _knew_ she could help Korra. She had bested another powerful bloodbender's grip before.

And she was reminded of Korra's helplessness as Amon seemed to sense her hiding beneath a table. In all likelihood, the man probably did just that and felt the very blood pumping through Korra's veins. Raava could feel her friend's pain as he twisted and strangled the blood in Korra's body as he lifted and held her in the very air. Truly bloodbending was an utterly disgusting form of waterbending. It was a perversion of the craft, what with water being so central to life itself.

She didn't have to wonder where Mako was for very long either. He was drawn out of hiding by Korra's agonized groans of pain. Once again, Amon proved to be nigh invulnerable to bending as he dodged Mako's attacks, ferocious as he was to defend Korra. Soon Mako was also forced to writhe in agony as he was caught in Amon's grip as well.

This had been Raava and Korra's worst nightmare. Truthfully, Korra had feared this happening from the very beginning. Raava had held out hope that things wouldn't have come to this, that they wouldn't get so close to defeat. Indeed, it was staring them in the face as Amon forced Korra to her knees. Raava was desperately trying to _reach._ To touch Korra in order to trigger the Avatar State. This was Korra's most desperate moment, yet Raava was trapped within her friend. Korra did not know she was there. She did not know how to reach within herself for her birthright. Raava had no chance to connect with her if Korra did not try to reach her from the other side.

Amon's hand came down, his thumb coming to rest in the middle of Korra's forehead. And then Raava could feel herself getting _sheared_ from Korra at certain contact points. Both she and Korra recoiled in some of the worst pain either had ever felt. Korra couldn't even make a sound as her chakras were severed, her connections to the elements torn free. It was with abject horror that Raava finally knew how Amon took away people's bending.

There weren't very many things in this world or the other that Raava hated. Her oldest and first enemy was perhaps the only thing on that list in the thousands upon thousands of years she has lived. Amon became the second as he dropped Korra and her body landed to the ground with a sickening thud, too ravaged to even lift her arms to slow her fall.

“I told you I would destroy you,” Amon gloated. She _despised_ him in a way that she thought was probably inappropriate for a spirit of light and balance, but Raava didn't care. What was the point of working with a human as the Avatar if she could not come to their aid? Amon had broken their connection in a way that Raava has _never_ experienced.

She and Korra were struggling to recover and come to terms with what just happened as a voice cut through the fog swirling through their heads. Korra could scarcely believe this was happening to her and it was difficult to think through her fear and confusion. On some level, they realized it was the aptly named Mustache Guy challenging Amon in rage, but neither could summon enough energy beyond Korra's last desperate attempt to bend before she had collapsed again. And it had only confirmed that there was nothing left to bend within her.

They were both hopeless now as Amon approached Mako once he had disposed of his lieutenant. This was the end to their attempt to stop the Equalists. Raava had no idea where they were supposed to go from here. It would be up to the world now to save themselves. She had failed Korra spectacularly.

Mako did not seem convinced of their hopelessness. The boy truly was something, always believing that there was _something_ they could do. Perhaps it was why he had been able to get he and his brother out of the streets. Somehow, against all odds, he was able to lightningbend Amon. If they all got out of this alive, then Raava was going to be grateful to the young man for a _very_ long time.

He gathered Korra in his arms and made a break for it. Raava suspected that he knew that it was hopeless trying to defeat Amon conventionally now. He was simply too powerful and Korra needed to recover. Perhaps there was _some_ way for her to recover her bending. Now that Raava knew how Amon did it, she could maybe do something about it. She didn't know what though.

Just when she thought Korra and Mako were going to escape, the boy awkwardly seized and dropped Korra. Amon. He had managed to follow them, recovering faster than Raava expected. Of course, when has Amon ever done anything predictable? Korra struggled to her feet as the Equalist leader slowly closed in on Mako, knowing that he now had the firebender in a much more powerful grip and that Korra was helpless to do anything about it now that he had debended her.

Horror and dismay washed over Korra as Amon gloated and had Mako kneel before him. They both knew what was coming for him, and Mako did not deserve that fate. No one did, the pain and… and nothingness that awaited him was staggering. It was in that moment that Raava and Korra both reached for something neither expected. It was instinctual as they both figured that there was nothing left to touch, Amon had severed Korra's connection to her very chakras. How could they hope to touch any of the elements, let alone the Avatar State like Raava desperately wanted to?

But it was the one element that Korra had never been able to reach until that moment. It was an act of faith, perhaps, as Korra wished desperately for _something, anything at all_ to help Mako, to protect him from the fate that was bestowed upon her. Faith being an integral part to spirituality and airbending itself.

“NO!” Korra screamed as she punched forward, air finally obeying her call and coming to her aid. Amon was slammed violently backwards, and not even Mako was spared from receiving a portion of the impact. Korra's attack was primal, desperate and sudden. Raava could feel that even her friend was in disbelief at what she had just done.

“I can airbend?” she asked herself in wonder and awe. “ _I can airbend!”_

Raava wasn't sure if she should have been as surprised as she was. It seemed Korra had discovered all of the elements when she least expected it. Usually in times of great emotion. Before, those emotions were tied to a little girl, they were immature and not yet vested into anything of particular note. Now, though, now Korra knew what it was to fight for something, to care about someone as much as she did about her friends and Mako, the boy who growing to be more in her heart.

Korra was ferocious in her attack, hitting Amon over and over again in a desperate bid for freedom. She was fighting for herself, for Mako, for everyone that had their bending taken away and for her own grief. Amon was pushed all the way to the end of the hall, Korra rushing to finish him off, hopefully capturing him in a bid to quell this uprising.

However, Amon was not about to give up so easily. His telekinetic bloodbending ability stopping Korra in her tracks. For a moment, Raava thought fate was being especially cruel today. They were _so close._ Quickly, both she and Korra worked as hard as they could to break Amon's grip. Korra, instinctively trying to use her severed waterbending, and Raava fueling her Avatar's exhausted body with as much as her own energy as she could. It wasn't like the Avatar State in being able to completely break a bloodbending grip, but it _had_ to be enough.

“No. You. _Don't!”_ Korra growled, and kicked as hard as she could, launching Amon through the window with the most satisfying impact Raava has seen in a very long time. He flew through the air, farther than she would have expected it was very impressive, and smashed into the bay below.

The Equalist supporters that had earlier fled from the stadium watched in dismay as their esteemed leader was obviously defeated by the Avatar, quickly jeering and booing Korra. Foolish humans, they had no idea of the bigger picture, no idea they were following a lie. In a way, Raava pitied them. If this is what they turned to for hope, then they truly were more downtrodden than Raava would have expected.

That was when Amon finally deigned to show his true colors, launching himself out of the bay on top of a water spout. His supporters gasping in shock, their leader who they once held in such high regard, shattered before them in a more spectacular way than Korra, Mako or Raava could have expected. Amon realized what had happened immediately. His cause was finished in Republic City. He allowed himself to fall back into the water and fled as fast as he could, Mako unable to hit him with his fire blasts.

It was so sudden. This was what Korra and Mako had wanted when they had first came to the stadium. This twist of fate was almost cruel. Waiting to reveal itself until Korra had lost what she held so dear, what she was terrified of coming to pass. To her credit, Korra had no tears for what has happened to her. Perhaps they would come in time. Right now, she was actually rather relieved that they had managed to finally best Amon at something and that she had managed to save Mako.

But Raava could feel what she was feeling deep within herself. Regret, shame and incompetence. What kind of Avatar allowed someone to take their bending away? What kind of an Avatar could she be _without her bending?!_ She had to be the single worst Avatar that had ever lived. Fear drummed underneath Korra's skin, waiting for the fragile hope, that something could be done to heal her, to shatter and consume her. Raava hoped that something could be done for her friend before that could happen. There was only one human that she could think of who could possibly help Korra right now. If her bending could be severed with waterbending, perhaps it could be reconnected with the same element. Water was the only one of the four that heal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends part 1 of the Book 1 finale. I'm thinking there will probably be two. It seems I finally hit the serious part of the story that I've been expecting to write for like the past two or three chapters. I believe it's also the first chapter that Raava directly narrates from the show. I was waiting for this chapter. It and the next one were the ones I was looked forward to writing most from Book 1. It's like *Super Serious* writing day for my fics. Now I've got to write the events of The Aftermath for my Asami-centric fic in EoL. Poor Asami. Poor Korra. I'm being rather mean to them right now. Ah well, there will be light at the end of their tunnels.


	12. Union

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Very brief suicidal thoughts

**Union**

It was a quiet affair as they all traveled to the Southern Water Tribe. Every one of Korra's friends and allies seemed to come to the same conclusion. If anyone could help Korra, as well as Lin, it would be Katara. The elderly waterbender was the greatest healer in the world, if she couldn't help Korra, then no one in this world would be able to do so.

But Raava was beginning to think that her old friend wouldn't be able to do anything for her Avatar. Since the fight with Amon, both she and Korra had been desperately trying to touch the three elements she had been deadened to. There was nothing there. Her friend was starting to give in to despair, leaving only the most fragile of hopes to keep her going. Raava, however, was more optimistic. Unfortunately, she was privy to knowledge Korra did not have. Namely the memories and personalities of her past lives. Korra's connection to them was as silent as ever. She did not know that Aang was confident that he could restore her bending with energybending.

And so Raava was forced to watch her friend's hopes fade as her old waterbending master failed to achieve any noticeable change after hours of work.

“I'm so sorry, Korra,” Katara said sadly as the light in the healing pool faded.

Korra said nothing, preferring to huddle with her knees to her chest. As if to protect herself from any more pain and crushing disappointment. It was the only outward sign of her grief. Of course, Raava knew every aspect of her emotions and she was helpless to do anything about it. At this point, Korra was simply too tightly bound for her to interfere. She had closed herself off, trying to become invulnerable in her pain.

Raava doubted that she even heard Katara tell her that she would tell their gathered friends and family that she was unable to restore her bending. When her friend did finally move, it was sudden and Raava didn't realize Korra's desire to get… _away_ was so strong until it washed over them both.

She exited the healing chamber and was greeted with everyone, Tenzin and his family, Mako, Bolin and Asami, Lin, her parents…, they all were staring at her in sorrow and traces of pity. Korra couldn't stand to see it. In her mind, she was the Avatar, she was meant to be strong and solve  _other_ people's problems. All her life she was raised to believe that she was a symbol, the solution to the world's problems and keeper of balance. One of these things were true, however it seems her teachers failed to inform her that she was also allowed to have problems of her own; that she wasn't immune to the pain a human existence could and would give her. Korra was more than the Avatar.

“It's going to all right, Korra,” Tenzin said sadly.

Tenzin was a good man, Raava very much liked him, but he sometimes came out with the  _exact_ wrong things to say in trying moments. His words echoed for a moment in Korra's mind, a mockery of what she was feeling within.  _Nothing_ felt right to her. She was severed from the three elements she had been immersed in since she was a toddler. In a way, she didn't truly belong to any one element, like most other Avatars, to lose all three was crushing to her. She felt bereft and empty. Her airbending felt like a cruel consolation prize in her eyes. To work so hard to unlock it, only for it to manifest as she was divorced from the others. Why hadn't it appeared earlier?

“No. It's not,” was all she said before walking past everyone and taking her coat. No one said another word as she made for the door. Raava didn't know if they were too shocked to respond from Katara's bad news, or they realized that Korra wasn't in the mood to be comforted.

K orra was determined to be alone. She had spent the entire trip with her friends, at the very least pretending to not be as miserable as she felt. Her friend was now exhausted, feeling like she absolutely did not deserve to be the Avatar, that she had failed. What kind of Avatar would she be with only one element? How does the Avatar  _lose_ their bending? Aang wouldn't have allowed this to happen. Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk and everyone else before her surely wouldn't have allowed Amon to take their bending.

If Korra had the ability to listen, Raava would have had Aang tell her that the Avatars she compared herself to had made many of their own mistakes, had been through their own challenges, sometimes victimized in their own lives. The girl held herself to such a ridiculous standard, she idolized the other Avatars in the cycle. It was painful to see and perhaps only Roku had her beat in self-loathing and guilt in recent memory.

“Korra, wait!” a voice, Mako's, sounded from behind her. Raava was not sure whether his chasing after Korra would be beneficial. With how she was feeling, this could really go either way.

Nonetheless, Korra did slow down for him. If only to tell him to leave her alone. Raava certainly hoped the boy would play this moment right. She, of course, didn't expect him to make her feel better. That was currently impossible for anyone to do short of actually healing her. She did, however, hope that he could at least take the edge off the guilt, anger and grief that was miring her friend at the moment. Korra's emotions were becoming too intense for comfort.

“Go away,” she told him bitterly.

“I will,” he promised, “but I just want you to know, I'm here for you.”

But that wasn't something Korra wanted to hear either. Her friends no longer needed to be here. They would be wasting their time. She was a crippled Avatar and was no use to anyone any longer. They needed to move on. Mako and Bolin could return to pro-bending. Asami no doubt needed to take over her father's company. Tenzin had his family and Lin could still work for the city. And Korra would stay here, in the South Pole. Why would she need to return to the city? She offered no other skill worth noting besides her bending. At least she could claim her heritage in the Southern Water Tribe, otherwise she had nothing to her worth noting.

“No, I mean go _away._ Back to Republic City, get on with your life.”

This was something Mako wasn't expecting. Raava felt a little sorry for him. He was certainly earnest in his offer of support and probably thought that this was all that was needed to help Korra. Unfortunately, he had neither the maturity or the experience to realize exactly what Korra was feeling right now.

“What are you talking about?” He asked in confusion.

Korra's frustration bubbled forward. She realized that no one seemed to understand  _why_ she was so upset. Her friends and family knew that she was upset, of course, but she knew that they weren't understanding the issue as she was. And that confused her. Didn't anyone else see that she wasn't the Avatar anymore? It was as if they all expected her to return with them to Republic City. Surely they knew that there was nothing there for her anymore, not to mention that she could offer absolutely  _nothing_ in return to the city. Or them. For that matter, what was she going to do here? She had been training to become the Avatar her entire life. Korra knew her parents had made many sacrifices for their concept of a family. She was always training, spending much more time at the compound than at their home. She was a terrible daughter too.  


It was difficult to be partnered with her friend right now. Raava emotions and thoughts were acting in sheer contrast to Korra's at the moment and it was becoming hard to manage her friend's emotional state. Korra could feel  _so much_ sometimes and right now she was feeling overwhelmingly worthless. Something Raava did not agree with in the slightest.

“I'm not the Avatar anymore,” she snapped irritably. “You don't need to do me any favors.”

Of course, this was the crux of the matter. Raava had long since made note of the fact that Korra seemed to base her entire worth of the fact that she was the Avatar.  This was something she was readily prepared to lie at the feet of the White Lotus. Why the group filled her head with the  _concept_ of being the Avatar without actually showing her what it meant was something that utterly escaped Raava. It was truly foolish to fill the girl's head with all sorts of legends and tales of Avatars past, with the expectation that she match their supposed greatness. Aang was always someone who had been compared to Korra most of all. Why was she not spiritual? Aang would not have made that decision, Aang had more patience, and so and so forth.

But Aang  had also been an immature twelve year old boy who had wanted nothing to do with being the Avatar. He had fled the Southern Air Temple  and become lost for one hundred years while the world descended into unbalance and darkness in his absence. She knew how that had ultimately played out, the entire world did, however that still did not escape her point that her previous incarnation had  _flaws._ Each and every single one of her friends had them. Aang had been afraid, Roku indecisive, Kyoshi too stubborn, and Kuruk had been irresponsible. They were all great people, everyone knew that, but the world seemed mind numbingly determined to make the Avatar into some sort of untouchable deity. They did a miraculous disservice to Korra to paint them so perfectly and not teach her that they had been human beings too.

Korra tried to walk away from Mako, but the other teenager was not prepared to let her go just yet. Raava certainly hoped he realized he was now toeing a very fragile line.

“I don't care if you're the Avatar or not,” he told her firmly. That was a good start. This was definitely something her friend needed to hear more often. 

“Listen,” he started more gently, “when Tarrlok took you, I was losing my mind at the thought of never seeing you again. I realized… I love you, Korra.”

And this was yet another thing that Korra did not want to hear right now. In truth, Raava couldn't exactly blame him for his confession. He did not really understand that her emotions were stemming from her inadequacy. He thought he was telling her what she needed to hear. Not knowing that all along, Korra had felt like she could never measure up. Why was he choosing her over Asami? She considered the other girl the far better choice. Why was he choosing to waste his time with Korra when she was so useless now? He had so many better things he could be devoting himself to. His brother, he could have a real relationship with Asami, who was not broken like she was, he could be an amazing pro-bender. Mako was a truly great person in Korra's eyes. He did not deserve to be weighed down by her.

Mako was staring into her eyes, his hand cupping her face and Korra could see the love he felt for her. It was far too much for her to handle.

“I-” she choked, removing his hand, “I can't.” She turned tail and ran towards the waiting Naga, ignoring Mako as he called out to her.

Korra's thoughts were a mess as she rode out to the familiar cliffs she used as her old thinking spot before going to Republic City. To be honest, it was more like a brooding spot. Her friend had a tendency to use any kind of view overlooking the water as a place to over think about anything and everything, though the most common topic was her sense of worth. Was she a good enough Avatar? How could she save the city if she couldn't even airbend?

Now there was no doubt in Korra's mind as to whether or not she was a good Avatar. She wasn't, it had been proven to her beyond a shadow of a doubt. So many people were counting on her to help the world. Korra knew that the Equalists were hardly going to be the only threat she would ever have to face as the Avatar. And now she was effectively useless. Crippled, broken, worthless. Over and over again she tried to reach the chakras that had been severed from her. There was nothing ever there for her to find, though. Just an empty void of something that had been roughly torn away from her. 

It was all too much.

The weight of the world's hopes, her own expectations and goals to be the best Avatar she could be, the White Lotus's ideals of what the Avatar should be, her friends' support, her parents' love, Tenzin's optimism and even Lin's desperate hopes of recovery were all crushing down on her. Korra had no other recourse but to burst into tears. There was no recovery now. This was a permanent separation, she was the Avatar with no bending, just about.

She was the Avatar.

And then it occurred to Korra of what that actually meant. Her spirit was destined to reincarnate over and over again for the rest of time. Dimly, her friend watched as a tear burned down her face in the frozen air of the tundra, fell over the cliff and joined the salt and water of the ocean. For the barest of moments, she wondered if she should join it, it would be her duty, wouldn't it? To ensure the world had their Avatar?

And it was all too much.

She couldn't stand it. Raava has watched her friend misinterpret the duty of the Avatar one too many times. It simply  _could not_ be allowed to continue. Raava was filled with both world's worth of relief that Korra had such a strong will. Ultimately she did not contemplate that absolutely  _awful_ line of thinking for much longer and collapsed into the snow instead. Sobbing intensely into her drawn up knees.

The barest of silver linings was present, though. She hated to see her Avatar so beaten and absolutely detested that she was so utterly miserable to think like  _that._ Korra was still desperately trying to reach what was not there. She wasn't even thinking about it anymore. It was an instinctual move born from misery, but it was enough. Raava was determined to finally touch her. If she could not do so now, then she never would be able to.

Aang was the Avatar Korra respected the most. As well as one of the most gentle people Raava had ever known. It was fortunate that he was meant to be her guide due to the cycle. He manifested into this world with barely a sound, but Korra heard him all the same. The noise had disrupted the near total silence of her depression.

“Not now, Tenzin. I just want to be left alone,” Korra said through her tears.

“But you called me here,” Aang corrected her.

It was such a surprise to Korra, that she had immediately stopped crying and even forgot her sadness for a brief moment. Aang was  _here._ Right in front of her. There was only one way he would ever be able to do that and it could only mean one thing.

“You have finally connected with your spiritual self,” he confirmed.

Korra stood before him, still in disbelief that he was here. She had tried so hard to reach him before, at times doubting she would ever be able to get into contact with her past lives.

“How?”

“When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change,” Aang told her.

It was certainly true enough. As terrible as her emotions were, the fact that Korra had felt as if she was nothing had finally stripped her of her innate defenses. The girl was determined to be so independent and strong, that she had mistaken some types of help as weakness. Spirituality was a foreign concept to her, she often felt that bending and physical might was all that there was in being a great Avatar.

Yet, the sight of a near endless line of Avatars appearing from the mist itself finally convinced her friend that this was not true at all. Power in a form that she could see, but so numerous that she could hardly comprehend it, was right in front of her.  _Their_ legacy. Not just Aang, or Roku or anyone else. It was theirs to claim and wield, not something to compare to and measure up against.

Korra was not even surprised as Aang reached for her, touching her mind and her heart as the ancient and infinite strength of thousands of Avatars lit the world around them. They were all of the same mind in that moment, Raava herself granting the power to heal their youngest friend. She could see the damage Amon had brutally inflicted and it was so,  _so_ simple to mend the connections to Korra's chakras. It seemed Amon's bloodbending simply was no competition whatsoever to Raava. Had this not been strictly necessary for Korra's realization as the Avatar, Raava would have hated him even more for inflicting such unnecessary pain on her friend. 

...No, actually she  really,  _really_ hated him regardless.

But Amon was irrelevant in this moment. Everything he did and what he stood for did not matter in the face of Korra's new-found growth. It was almost painfully simple to reverse his damage and as the line of the Avatar faded, Raava knew that she and Korra were finally connected. Partners in their unending quest to balance the world.

Korra was still for a moment, eyes closed, as she finally, truly felt the power that lay beneath her. Waiting for her to realize that it was there and it roiled at the chance to finally be touched. Both were filled with a sense of joy that Korra could not adequately describe, yet one that Raava has felt before through many different lives. Each experience was a little different and unique between each of her friends.

Her Avatar opened her eyes, the pure power of the Avatar State blazing within them, as she lifted herself in the air in a celebration of the different elements. Air, fire, earth and water seamlessly and effortlessly obeying her command as Korra  _finally_ reached within and felt them resting inside her again.  It was unlike the bending she had known before, the power that was displayed here fueled by lives long passed and an ancient spirit she was as of yet unaware of. Still, it was still distinctly  _hers_ in a way that felt familiar and warm.

Slowly, Korra lowered herself to the ground. A bit in disbelief that this all had actually happened. That Aang and the others had appeared before her, that she could actually bend again, that she had finally been able to trigger the Avatar State.

Mako's surprise presence  interrupted their first union, however. Raava was not surprised that he had made to follow them really. She just didn't expect him to show up so soon. By all means, Naga was quite fast. Korra was actually ecstatic to see him there though.

Raava knew that the trauma that had been inflicted on her still had yet to heal. At least emotionally and mentally. Violently having one's bending ripped away wasn't something one simply forgot. However, Korra's healing did remind her of happier things, and for that Raava was grateful. Her friend didn't deserve what had happened to her and she most definitely needed a reprieve from her negative emotions. And what a reprieve it was.

Korra rushed to Mako and jumped into his arms, her momentum spinning them around a bit before she gently cupped his face.

“I love you too,” she told him softly before kissing him.

She felt lighter than she had in a very long time, in Mako's embrace. It was nice to see Korra finally get what she has been wanting. Goodness, the girl had been on the losing end of fate for quite some time.  Raava was happy she could experience something normal people got to have for once, her less than social friend (through no fault of her own) hasn't had many such experiences as of yet.

The kiss was brief and chaste, both teenagers preferring to simply enjoy the soft and warm feeling of the embrace before they broke apart. Korra was still rather exhausted after everything she had been through emotionally. They were simply both relieved that they were even able to confirm their feelings for each other after the ugliness of Korra losing her bending and Amon's uprising.

“That was amazing, Korra,” Mako told her happily.

Korra could only grin at that, for she agreed entirely with him. It had been even better to experience the Avatar State, after all.

“Come on,” she told him and they both jumped on top of Naga. Korra was eager to return to the compound. She could tell everyone that the Avatar was back.

They made it back within the walls in record time, Naga seemed to pick up on her friend's excitement. It was a very different Korra indeed who burst into the healing hut to the utter surprise of everyone inside.

“Korra?” Tenzin asked as he recovered from jumping nearly a foot in the air. The others having reacted very similarly.

“I-I can bend again!” Korra announced breathlessly to the room and demonstrated her recovery by bending a rather large ball of fire between her hands gleefully.

Asami pulled Bolin out of the line of fire, quite literally, as their friend didn't seem to notice the two were standing so near her in her happiness. Everyone was staring at her in shock, not quite believing what they were seeing.

“How? I thought it was permanent…,” Lin said in near wonder. Raava immediately felt terrible for her in that moment. She truly regarded all of Aang and his friends' children as her own friends to this day. They were all wonderful people, but she had almost forgotten that Lin had her bending severed as well in light of Korra's suffering. The usually stoic metalbender had to have felt utterly hopeless at Katara's failure for both Korra and herself.

“It was Aang! He came to me and taught me how to energybend. I can restore your bending too!”

It was always interesting to see how other people reacted to what Raava could only best describe as 'acts of the Avatar.' On a logical level, most people knew that the Avatar could commit acts of what were essentially miracles. Yet, it was difficult for the room to believe that Korra could actually restore bending to someone, no matter how much they wanted to. Lin and Katara were really the only two people who took Korra at her word and were the first to follow the grinning Avatar outside. Lin was willing to try anything at this point, while Katara simply could not be fazed any longer by what the Avatar could do and actually appeared rather happy at learning that her husband had helped her student.

After witnessing Korra actually using the Avatar State to heal Lin, and the metalbender's subsequent display of bending, everyone practically rushed Korra to congratulate her after Tenzin. Her parents crushing her into a bear hug that was rivaled only by Bolin's, Lin thanking her genuinely rather than using her typical gruff demeanor and even Asami gave Korra a brief hug despite the two's rather odd relationship. Mako was grinning at her lovingly and Raava was certain the two were going to act like lovesick fools for the near future. And that was actually rather wonderful.  


Korra was joyful at the prospect at being the Avatar again. Raava knew she was and would continue to be a great one. Now, if only she could find a way to convince her friend she had been so all along and she was certain Korra would grow to be even greater than she already was. Of course, that was something to work on at another time. Raava had no doubt she and Aang could help their friend far easier now that she had finally connected with them and she looked forward to building an even stronger relationship with Korra, even if it had to be through others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Korra's brief contemplation of suicide. I don't know if the writers absolutely intended people to see the scene in that way, but that's how I read it. How does that tear fall off of Korra's face and over the cliff if she was not looking *over* it? Idk, maybe the wind carried it, maybe she did actually give it the barest of considerations at her lowest point before disregarding the idea. I do find her body language interesting within the scene. She falls *backwards* onto her bottom, not, for instance, to her knees, as if to retreat from the cliff rather than towards it. And then she pulls her knees to her chest, in a position similar to the fetal position, something people do when they're feeling absolutely vulnerable.
> 
> This is not to say that suicide is something that Korra would do beyond a shadow of a doubt. To be honest, I don't think she has it in her character. She's a very determined person with a powerful instinct to fight with everything that she has. Which is why I think she only considered going over for *moments* before her personality reasserted herself.
> 
> On a much lighter note, yes I did indeed lampshade my actual thoughts on how the hell Mako managed to show up so quickly after Korra's Avatar State debut. Naga was *running* out to those cliffs and it's not like Korra was there for a long while. The actual scene takes place over the course of, like, three minutes. Guy must be an Olympic sprinter, man.
> 
> But yes, this is the end of Book 1! :D Before I go, I'd like to take the time for some shameless self-promotion! If you want to join me as I talk about fanfiction in general, this fic, my other fics, any deleted scenes I might write and general tomfoolery, join me at my tumblr! It's blueraith.tumblr.com.


	13. Unease

**Unease**

Raava was… suspicious. She supposed she could be simply biased, but she was inclined to distrust Unalaq ever since she had come to discover the man had wanted to have Korra join him in the North Pole. She knew what had happened to Tonraq and Korra's father was not a man that was normally inclined to petty grudges. He was a good judge of character, one didn't gain as much respect from their community if that wasn't the case.

That wasn't the only source of her unease. If it were, Raava would feel much better. However, time was coming near. The world did not feel right. There was darkness gathering and there could only be one explanation for it. It had been a long time since she had last felt it gather in this way, and it wouldn't be the last. Only, this time would be different, she knew. For the second time in the cycle she and Vaatu fought over, Raava would be bound to a human and the limits that gave her. Except, Korra was not at all aware of what was coming for her, or the stakes involved. This was perhaps the most overlooked risk she had taken in joining with Wan's soul. Raava simply could have never known that her connection with the Avatar would degrade as it has to the point that they could no longer convene when it became necessary.

Unfortunately, Korra still had much to learn in spiritual matters. Simply put, the girl was not very good at it and her lack of affinity to her past lives was a stark contrast to Aang's. Raava knew it was unfair to compare the two, every Avatar tended to have their own strengths, but it was a bit jarring to go from having Roku on hand to dispense advice to Aang at almost any time he had needed it, but have almost no recourse for Korra. She and Aang were trying, however Korra was not listening. It was almost like she did not know how. That was probably the case. Korra tended to think that if there was no immediate crisis, then there was no reason to look within period. Spiritual communication with her past lives was only to be used in cases of severe emergency as far as she was concerned. It was frustrating. Especially since Korra didn't seem to believe this outright. It was something she thought instinctively because of all the business with Amon. Aang had only been able to reach her at her lowest point, or when she had been afraid or trapped. When she outright _needed_ him. Never before. It seemed Korra had attached to that thought inadvertently and she was utterly deaf at Aang's attempts to warn her of what was to come.

Which was why she was so suspicious of Unalaq. Vaatu was supposed to be sealed away, though Raava couldn't say whether he _should_ be able to interfere with spirits the way he apparently was in the spirit world, to be fair. This was the first cycle he had been imprisoned, after all. There was no way of telling what he could or could not do. However, that still did not make her feel any better about the way Unalaq was pretending that he knew what was happening in the South Pole. Raava did not know whether the man was speaking from pride or if he was being purposely misleading. Either way, he was not going to make anything easier for Korra by acting so obtuse. She had thought she would be spared of human greed and arrogance after Tarrlok disappeared, but apparently not.

The spirits were restless, some of them becoming corrupted similar to the last Harmonic Convergence when Vaatu was purposely roaming the world to bend them to their will. It was something Raava detested, he was essentially warping their people's free will and sentience in order for them to do his bidding. If her enemy had the power, he would probably do the same with humanity if he had the chance. However, Unalaq was claiming that the Southerners were responsible for their recent misfortunes. Raava did not buy that. For one thing, spirits were almost always concerned with their own motivations. There were very few of them that ever acted out of genuine desire to aid or harm humans without keeping their own needs in mind as well. Human worship was _rarely_ one of them. To be fair, Unalaq simply could be parroting what had been taught. The Northern Water Tribe was almost notorious for their insistence on tradition and history. If they had been worshiping spirits for thousands of years, to no ill effect, then they would probably be inclined to believe that their efforts pleased other spirits. Raava doubted that was the case. More likely, they had failed to specifically anger them by disturbing them as Tonraq had done when he was younger. Spirits did not often care what humans thought of them, preferring to be left alone in what they considered their homes.

For another thing, it was quite ironic that the man was claiming the South had lost all connection with the old ways when it was the oldest of ways that was the cause of all the rampages. Humans across all nations had forgotten the last Harmonic Convergence and what Wan had done for them. It was almost amusing to hear that Unalaq thought this was all the result of a few more carnivals than the year previous, as if spirits cared enough of human concerns to keep a tally of such things. Her people could be notoriously selfish, it was unlikely they had even noticed. No, this was all probably Vaatu trying to gain her attention. To goad her into opening the Southern Spirit Portal and confronting him. Something Raava was hoping to avoid and something Korra at this point didn't even know was an option. Hopefully it would stay that way. Raava frankly hoped to test whether Harmonic Convergence was even necessary if Vaatu was imprisoned to begin with. If all he could do was corrupt a few spirits then she and Korra could simply purify them with Unalaq's admittedly useful ability.

“Korra!”

Korra and Mako were walking towards the city after saying their goodbyes to Tenzin and his family. Korra's choice had not sat well with Raava. She didn't trust Unalaq to teach Korra about her spiritual connection properly. After all, she still wasn't certain whether the man was incompetent or lying and neither option was particularly good especially given how critical it was that Korra be able to convene with Aang at will over the coming weeks. Raava was also doubting that Tonraq would take Korra's decision well, especially since he was the one calling to her now.

Korra stopped and sighed. “Mako, I think I need to talk to my dad alone for a bit.”

“Okay, I'll wait a bit ahead, I guess,” Mako said uncertainly. He probably didn't know how to handle family spats.

Tonraq caught up to Korra as Mako began to walk away. Korra didn't want to speak with her father, she was angry with both him and Tenzin. This was another reason Raava did not like Korra's choice to change teachers. She was not certain how much of this decision had been rooted in her anger with Tenzin. That and she has not quite mastered airbending yet. Tenzin had a point when he had said she had mastered 'Korra airbending.' Learning the formal forms could be beneficial.

“Dad, Tenzin's already left. This isn't something I'm changing my mind about,” Korra snapped stubbornly.

“I wish you would have thought about this a little longer. I don't want you changing teachers because of something me and Tenzin decided on years ago,” Tonraq responded as he tried to reason with Korra. Raava didn't think he would succeed. He didn't seem to grasp just how upset Korra was with him.

“Why are you always thinking that I can't make my own decisions? I _did_ think about this. Unalaq has been the only person to actually do something as far as I can tell. Besides, that little 'decision' was kind of a big deal to me, Dad,” Korra said as she spun around to face Tonraq, cutting her arm through the air angrily.

“We were doing what we thought was best,” Tonraq tried to explain.

“Yeah, funny how no one mentioned anything like that to me. Why lie to me for so long? It's like you and the White Lotus can't trust me with anything! _I'm_ the Avatar, I can make my own decisions about _my_ training. I don't need you to speak for me,” Korra crossed her arms, wishing this conversation could be over. She hadn't expected to fight with her father this much when she had decided to come here for the festival. Raava thought this was all very unfortunate. It wasn't as if Korra hadn't missed her parents while she was gone. Now they were fighting and Korra thought Tonraq was acting completely unfair to her. Raava didn't know why Tonraq didn't simply come clean with her.

She had known from overhearing conversations between Senna and Tonraq when Korra had been very young that he had been exiled from the Northern Water Tribe. It was something she had managed to piece together over time. Perhaps he felt embarrassed still about what had happened, but Raava knew Korra very well. She would not take the truth well when it inevitably came out. Korra hated to be kept in the dark and right now, she felt like no one trusted her to make her own decisions or to think for herself. Raava knew stories like Tonraq's ultimately came to light sooner or later, and when it did, Korra would probably feel like he didn't trust her at all.

And then there would be the kidnapping attempt to explain eventually. Raava always felt that everyone had overreacted when it happened. It had resulted in the compound and had made Korra much more isolated than she needed to be. Her lack of socialization was being remedied day by day, but there were still many instances where Korra had suffered from decisions that were made for her long ago. They were not always drastic, like challenging Amon, but even the small ways she displayed the results of her isolation were ultimately unnecessary. Once Korra learned of _why_ they had stuck her inside the compound, Raava doubted she would be pleased. They had arrested the people responsible, and it wasn't as if Raava completely disagreed with any attempts to keep Korra safe, she just doubted it needed to come at such a high cost. The Avatar was meant to learn of different peoples and cultures. It was truly a blessing that the worst had not come to pass once Korra had finally left. As it was, now Korra had learned that Aang had not made that decision at all and that her father and Tenzin had been lying to her and that was something that would probably have to be addressed, likely very angrily, sooner rather than later.

“I only want to help you, Korra. Tenzin only wants to help you,” Tonraq tried to explain, but he was beginning to get frustrated with Korra. They were just as stubborn as each other, Raava wondered if they realized just how similar they actually were.

“Yeah? Well, Unalaq wants to help me too and what he's doing is actually working,” Korra shot back.

“You don't know him, Korra. He is a very ambitious man. I don't want you getting mixed up into his politics.”

“You don't think I can handle anything, do you? It's like you're jealous of him, or something! Dad, I'm trying to be the best Avatar I can be and you're holding me back for something that probably happened between you two _years_ ago! Let it go and let me do what I need to,” Korra was finished with this conversation. As far as she was concerned, Tonraq was entirely in the wrong and he was acting petty. She spun around and went to join Mako, not interested in anything else her father had to say. He had been lying to her for so long, she didn't know if she could believe him about anything that involved Unalaq anymore.

Tonraq didn't try to follow her. Raava figured he was going to allow Korra to learn what his brother was like on her own. That was probably for the best. Even if he was right about Unalaq, Korra was of no mind to listen to him at this time. Still, what he had managed to say was concerning. If Unalaq was going to use Korra for his own benefit, Raava very much doubted Korra would be able to stop him for some time. It would be just as it was with Tarrlok. Unfortunately, Korra was not very good at realizing when she was being manipulated. That kind of gullibility was something she fully blamed on Korra's isolation. Though, Raava did not know what kind of politics Tonraq was referring to. She and Korra had not been in the South for a long while, there was a strong possibility that Tonraq knew more about this situation than they did.

Then again, there was still the chance that Korra was right in that Tonraq was still upset about his banishment and was regarding his brother unfairly. That chance was probably very small, to be fair. Raava doubted Tonraq was that type of man and she was getting a bad feeling about Unalaq herself. Living as long as she has with as many humans as well tends to make one good at spotting unfortunate patterns. Unalaq was a little too good at pitting Korra against her father for comfort. He was _supposed_ to be very in tune with the wants and needs of spirits, but Raava was very unimpressed with both his knowledge of the spirits' thinking and their ways and how the South was meant to fix their interference. She couldn't help feeling that this was going to become much worse. After all, Harmonic Convergence was coming near and that had never been an easy time in all the millennia she has existed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always felt like there wasn't enough of Tonraq trying to warn Korra away from Unalaq. Surely this very direct man would actually take the time to try to reason with Korra himself rather than keeping to very vague comments while arguing with Unalaq. He's clearly very against the idea of him teaching her, I have a hard time believing that he would just give up without trying to talk to Korra about it.
> 
> Also in this chapter, my headcanon as to why Raava and Aang catastrophically fail to warn Korra about Harmonic Convergence. Conveniently, it seems that according to Bryke, Korra and Raava cannot normally communicate to each other outside of Harmonic Convergence in the physical world and can only do so any other time in the spirit world. So, what's your excuse Aang? Honestly, this always seemed like such a huge plot hole and it was difficult coming up with why this does not happen in the show without devolving Korra. Which is exactly what seems to have happened and it is unfortunate. She was supposed to figure out her spiritual connection at the end of Book 1 after getting her bending restored, but the lesson didn't stick and now we're stuck with this really weird and vague non-happening as far as Aang appearing to Korra is concerned.
> 
> *Shrug* I guess Korra is much more hard headed than anyone has any right to, lol.


	14. Tension

**Tension**

Unalaq was a greater threat than Raava had realized. Whether because he was purposely setting Korra down this path, or not was entirely irrelevant. He had gotten her to _open_ the Southern Spirit Portal. Harmonic Convergence was drawing ever nearer. If she did not find a way to communicate to Korra soon, then it would be too late to seal it again.

And unfortunately, communicating with Korra was going to be much more difficult than she would have thought. Her friend was not listening. She did not think there was anything amiss. For all Korra knew, Unalaq was someone she could trust and he had convinced her that opening the portal was only a good thing. That it would bring balance between humanity and spirits. Something Raava doubted. She would not be surprised if this was Vaatu's doing. Influencing things beyond the spirit world towards his favor. What she did not know, however, was whether or not Unalaq was helping him. For all Raava knew, Vaatu could simply be manipulating the spirits into unrest and forcing Unalaq into reacting like any other overly faithful Northern Water Tribesman would.

Or, just as likely, Unalaq could be assisting him and was just as manipulating as her old enemy. Indeed, after Tarrlok, Raava had been on the lookout for more humans that could take advantage of the Avatar. Korra was still more than a little sheltered, and she seemed more susceptible to people who would lie to her than Avatars of the past. What she had seen so far from the man wasn't very reassuring. In fact, he seemed even more intent on getting between Korra and her father than ever. She had known that Korra would not take the truth behind her father's past very well. She had taken that as even more evidence that she didn't need her father's protection any longer and would trust Unalaq even more than she already had. True, perhaps she didn't need Tonraq's protection, however Raava very much disagreed with Korra's choice to trust her uncle more in its place. That choice would probably come back to haunt them.

It was simply more than a little suspicious that he had seemed so intent on going against his brother's wishes to keep the truth away from Korra. Ultimately, it _was_ Tonraq's choice in the end, no matter if even Raava disagreed with him. That wasn't the time and place to deal with this, in the middle of nowhere with dark spirits on their tail. Though, that was probably _exactly_ why Unalaq had chosen to reveal his brother's past. It was convenient indeed to blame the spirit's unrest on Tonraq. Raava doubted that he really had any affect on them. Their presence was more likely blamed on Harmonic Convergence creeping ever closer. Unalaq had gotten what he wanted though, and Korra had eventually told her father to leave.

Unalaq got everything that he wanted, really. Raava had tried to keep Korra from opening the portal, but she really had no other choice. It was curious that he had made her go into the frozen spirit forest alone. Raava wondered if that was by design as well. If Korra had her friends with her, she wondered if the dark spirits would have ever gotten the chance to overwhelm her and force Raava's hand in allowing Korra to reach the Avatar State. Things were growing more and more disturbing. Now she had to race time in order to somehow convince Korra that not all was well and hopefully she would then be able to tell her the truth of what was happening.

That was going to be difficult. Unfortunately, Unalaq seemed to be good at telling half-truths. It was the truth that the relationship between man and spirit was unbalanced, though the answer in fixing the unbalance did not lie with the portals, Raava was confident in that. It was in defeating Vaatu, or at the very least stalling him within the Spirit World and forcing him to wait another ten thousand years within his prison. Spirits and humanity did not need to be reunited, she agreed with Tonraq in that. The worlds had its chance long ago and they had proven incompatible. Spirits were determined to take the physical world for themselves, and humanity viewed nearly all spirits as hostile. Neither were willing to see the world from the others' point of view and ultimately for the sake of both sides, it was for the best that they stayed within their own realms.

And it wasn't just Unalaq's meddling with the spirits that Raava had to worry about. He had brought the Northern Fleet with him. That was not going to go over well with the South. She wondered at the convenience of his choice to occupy the South now rather than all the years previous that he had to worry about the spiritual health of his sister tribe. The South was being harassed by the dark spirits, not getting the goods that they normally did. Unalaq was positioning himself into being their savior over a problem he was either misdiagnosing or manipulating in his favor. Raava suspected the latter. She had lived far too long to give him the benefit of the doubt. Power plays got easier to spot as the centuries moved on and on. His was getting more blatant by the minute.

No, this was not going to get any easier for Korra. Now her uncle was risking an unbalance with the physical world on the eve of the most difficult battle Korra would face in her lifetime. She wondered how he was going to keep her under his influence if push came to shove. Raava had always respected the two Water Tribes in differing ways. When it came to the South, its people were notorious for their independent attitude. They had left their sister tribe to create their own path to begin with, away from the influence of many of their former traditions. When one added the stress of the Hundred Year War and all the trauma that had inflicted, the Southerners would not take their occupation well in the slightest. The last thing Korra needed was to quell a civil war, one that would probably have her very torn over. Korra, despite growing up in the compound, very much identified with the Southern Water Tribe. She wasn't _always_ locked behind the walls of her home. Her parents had been able to take her out for short periods of time, time that Raava had always wished was far longer, but it did have the effect of allowing Korra to gain a cultural identity.

They were finally returning to the palace, and that involved walking through the city proper and seeing the immediate consequences of Northern troops practically invading. Citizens were in the streets, glaring at the soldiers, though many of them were openly confused about this sudden change. Raava didn't blame them. In their point of view, this would have come as a massive surprise. She would have liked to ask them if _they_ thought anything was amiss. That would certainly be interesting. She knew that spirits were plaguing Southern ships, and they did have the ability to attack the city itself, but that had not happened _yet._ Unalaq would probably make the argument that he was acting before it could get to that point, but Raava doubted that he was that benevolent. Once again, she wondered if he was actually aware of Harmonic Convergence and if he was taking advantage of the unrest that came with it.

“It's the Avatar!” one of the men called out on the side of the street as the soldiers forced them aside to accommodate their party. “Maybe she knows what's going on. Hey! What is the Northern Fleet doing here?”

Korra turned to look at the people, uncomfortable with what she was seeing. They all looked very confused and upset, glaring at the soldiers suspiciously. While she trusted Unalaq's judgment right now, Korra did wonder if this was strictly necessary. She wondered if there was another way to unite the tribes. That was how it was supposed to be, right? Uniting the tribes again would bring balance to them both, she hoped. It seemed even after all that she had been through, Korra still wondered if she was a good Avatar, if she was living up to her potential and doing all that she could for the world.

Raava realized that her insecurities were likely the main driving force behind her loss of confidence in Tenzin and her father. In her mind, Korra probably thought that they lacked just as much assurance in her abilities as Korra herself did. That… was not good. Raava had hoped that defeating the Equalists would give Korra the self assurance she desperately needed. That didn't seem to have happened, though. She actually seemed almost exactly the same as she had been. Raava wondered just what could come of Korra's insecurities and the possibilities were not good. This was probably going to go the way as it had for Tarrlok. Korra always seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve, it was probably trivial for Unalaq to see his niece's issues and prey upon them. Men like him were always waiting to take advantage of others' weaknesses and Korra always made hers rather obvious. This was something Raava hoped would fade with age.

However, for now that was not the case. Unalaq was feeding into Korra's ego, telling her that he had faith in her that the others did not, and goodness Raava hoped that one day Korra could see through these kinds of ploys. She hated to see her friend's issues turned against her. Add to that, Korra's keen desire to do absolutely _everything_ that she could to prove herself, and she was blind to what was right in front of her. No, Raava was now of mind that Unalaq at the very _least_ knew enough of what was going on to forcefully take complete control of the South.

“Uh-” Korra started, not sure of what to say. She was surprisingly good at press conferences, people seemed to appreciate her refreshing tendency to simply say what was on her mind. However, Korra was _not_ good at reacting when she was put on the spot. And no matter what she said, Raava was of the mind that her friend knew on some level that something was terribly wrong. This invasion seemed more than a little extreme to her and Raava hoped that Korra would accept the truth of what was going on sooner rather than later.

“Korra, there's no need to explain anything to them,” Unalaq said quietly from beside her. “I will make certain that the citizens get all the information they need. You must focus on your spiritual training for now.”

Raava was interested in what version of events Unalaq would tell them, if he would explain anything to them at all.

“Are you sure? They look surprised. Maybe explaining things to them will make things easier,” Korra said uneasily.

“The South will be going through some growing pains while I ensure they make the recovery that they need. There's nothing to worry about, this will all pass in time. For now, I'm afraid they will be a little uncomfortable with the changes I have made, but I assure you that this is necessary to bring them back into balance,” Unalaq smoothly explained.

“Oh,” was all Korra could really manage to say. She was thinking about just what kind of 'growing pains' her people was going to have to go through if Unalaq got his way. She didn't really see how this connected with the dark spirits and wondered if all they really needed to do was focus more on older traditions that had fallen by the wayside. Was enacting a blockade truly necessary?

Korra didn't know the answer to that question, and she had to foresight not to ask it right now, where people could potentially overhear them. It would probably only make things worse. Instead, she continued to follow her uncle and cousins back to the palace. Once there, Unalaq and the twins elected to unpack and clean up, giving Korra, Mako and Bolin time to do the same.

“Whew, I'm glad to be back!” Bolin exclaimed. “Maybe we can get some real food now!”

“Yeah, that'd be good,” Korra said as she looked out the window.

Bolin didn't notice Korra's preoccupation, he could be so oblivious at times, but Mako did. He put his hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“I don't know,” Korra said as she sighed. “I just wonder if this is the right thing to do. My uncle seems to think this will work, but did you see all those people outside? They didn't seem too happy.”

“No, they didn't,” Mako agreed. Raava was glad that they had made amends. For now. Korra was under so much stress at the moment, sadly much of it because of her own doubts, and she was taking it out on everyone around her. When it came to Mako, their tempers seemed to play off each other and they argued. It was something Raava hoped would pass because it wasn't something she particularly liked being in, literally, the middle of.

“Maybe you can talk to him about it. You are the Avatar, right? You get to pull the 'Balancing the World' card for this kinda stuff,” Mako grinned at her.

“Yeah,” Korra laughed. “Hopefully that card will work, though. I've just been getting the feeling that no one's been really listening to me lately. I'm really hoping that Unalaq will be willing to ease up on us here, I don't think the others are going to understand what we're trying to do,” Korra said as she crossed her arms.

“I'm here for you,” Mako asserted. “I'm sorry if I haven't been clear about that. I _am_ on your side.”

“I know, and I'm sorry too. I've been under a lot of stress lately, and I've been taking it out on you.”

“You've got this, Korra. I know you've been doing the best you can. Maybe all you need to do is talk to you uncle more about this. And hey, maybe things will turn out of the best anyway,” Mako said hopefully.

But Korra and Raava weren't so sure about that. Raava more so than Korra, but at least the girl was beginning to think about all of this. That was the first step towards acting on all of this, after all. She just hoped Korra wouldn't act too late. Still, at least Mako and Korra were making up with each other. Truly, it wasn't particularly pleasant when they argued.

“Thanks, Mako. I guess I should clean up and then try to talk to him,” Korra said as she smiled wanly. As she passed by him, she made sure to give him a light kiss on the cheek. Korra was hoping they'd have more time to themselves later, but for now she had her tribe to worry about.

And Raava had to worry about what to do about Harmonic Convergence. She desperately hoped that she could do what she needed to before the time came to act. As it was, she wasn't sure why getting to Korra was so hard. She wondered if something was wrong, and if there was, she also wondered what she was supposed to do to fix it. She and Aang could do nothing but watch if Korra would not let them in and waiting as they were could spell disaster for the entire world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unalaq hasn't explicitly stated that he is aware of Harmonic Convergence yet, and so Raava is still unsure of his intentions. She does know, however, that she actively dislikes him. Who can blame her? The guy's a douchebag. We also get an unfortunate realization that Korra is still very much bound by her insecurities. Poor kid. She's a good Avatar, but she's determined to not believe in that. And so comes Korra's unease about Unalaq's decision to bring in his troops. I've always felt that if the show were allowed more episodes in just about all the seasons, one of the things we'd see more of is how torn Korra would have been about this. Unalaq's telling her the Avatar must be neutral, however this is still her homeland and her people. I don't think she took this occupation lightly in the slightest, even if she ultimately decided that Unalaq probably knows what he's doing.
> 
> I'll be honest, writing Makorra doesn't come easy for me. It's not something that I absolutely despise or anything, however compared to how easily everything else in this fic comes to me, Makorra is very difficult. I can't seem to get into the mindset for it and writing it feels friggin awkward. Ultimately I decided to follow the direction of the episode itself and keep them on good terms in this scene. I am of the opinion that Mako and Korra aren't really healthy together. When push comes to shove, they tend to argue and snap at each other and that's not very conducive to a partnership like they want. However, push hasn't come to shove yet. We're in the calm before the storm and there is the fact that these two have been dating for six months. Absolutely they must have some pretty good times together for their relationship to work for this long. I don't buy the baloney that one or the other are abusive in the slightest, so there's that reasoning out. I think they actually can be happy together, however that happiness tends to be forgotten when one of them are stressed, unfortunately.


	15. Neutrality

**Neutrality**

Raava thought tensions in the Southern Water Tribe would get ugly, but she didn't really expect it would turn so badly, so quickly. Unfortunately, Korra seemed to think the situation was still salvageable. Raava knew the girl was sadly naive. This was beyond Korra at this point, she was being manipulated into acting against her true interests, or worse inaction. The occupation and blockade was certain to force the South into becoming hostile to begin with, Raava knew this. She did wonder though, if Unalaq knew that the humiliation and reminder of the Hundred Year War was certain to force the South into making a rash move. Like trying to kidnap him.

Frankly, Raava figured that he had to have known was he was doing. She really no longer wondered if this was move for power, there was no other explanation. Why would the North act so aggressively over dark spirit attacks and attempting to 'protect' the Southern Spirit Portal? Raava knew that it would have been trivial to post Northern soldiers _there_ rather than in the city to risk open fighting in the streets. Korra actually had to try to stop such a fight. It was unfortunate that Unalaq was effectively diminishing her ability to reason with her own people. It was Tonraq that had to diffuse the near fight. Which was rather interesting and likely the reason she and Korra were in a court house right now. If Unalaq was admittedly intelligent enough to take advantage of seventy years, and frankly more if she was honest, of resentment and 'otherness' to force a near civil war between his tribes to gain complete control over them, then he was certainly intelligent enough to realize that his brother was the one that held the true respect of the people in the Southern Water Tribe.

This potential civil war was just so… foolish to begin with. The product of years, upon years of resentment over the differences between these peoples to begin with. Raava was far more privy over the actual differences between the tribes than most people were. Not only did she have the ability to bond with another reincarnation of the Avatar soul over and over again, seeing how each life was different from the next, she also had the ability to be reborn into different cultures repeatedly. She saw each and every difference there was between the Northern and Southern tribes there was to see, big and small, personal and societal. The North certainly had a proud and great history, however they did not seem to have the same sense individuality and determination that their sister tribe did. They definitely had the traits themselves, but not in such a big way as the South did. Something that Raava attributed to the cultural genocide and suffering the South was forced to endure. Something that the North did not. And the Southern Water Tribe _knew_ that. They had to, these people were hardly as simple-minded and stupid as Unalaq seemed to think. Raava doubted that the South actually _hated_ the North for not suffering like they did, no she thought that what they probably _did_ actually hate was the idea that the North had to come into their homeland to 'fix' the problems they were perceived to have.

Certainly, dark spirits were attacking the South, however Raava attributed that problem to another source entirely. That is, she did not think that the Southerners themselves had attracted the spirits by not _worshiping_ them enough. Raava actually would like to meet spirits that were so vain and motivated to actually devote thousands of years to policing the matters of humans. For goodness sake, most of the more powerful of her people, the ones who would even have the strength to negatively affect humans, found humanity to be dumb and stupid and not worth the effort. The _only_ spirit she knew of who would go out of his way to attack and spread darkness and misery to humans was locked away. And likely influencing other spirits to do what he could not right now.

That needed to be fixed, definitely, but Raava did not think it was Unalaq that was going to be the driving force behind that effort. Indeed, he was actively harming Korra right now. Convincing her that she needed to be _neutral_ of all things in a blatant power play to 'unite' the Water Tribes. Something that he seemed to not understand the meaning of. Did he not know that the Southerners had originally left the Northern Water Tribe to create their own way of life? Away from traditions they didn't particularly care for? That they resented the fact that the North seemed to view them as backwards, irresponsible children who didn't know what was for their own good? He probably did and was using this to further his goals, actually. But Korra did not know this. She viewed the Southern Water Tribe as her home, but she was young and that compound did make learning these things difficult. She needed to learn that sometimes, being separate brought balance. Humans and spirits needed to be separate. It was the only way to ensure that the spirits would not overtake the physical world for themselves, and that humans would not attack every spirit they came across. The Water Tribes needed to be separate. It was healthy for them. They each had their own identities, their own culture and their own merits.

Unalaq was effectively telling the Southern Water Tribe that their ways were not good enough. They were not up to par and they needed to be changed and repaired. For the second time in their history and in a relatively short time. Wounds like the Hundred Year War echoed over lifetimes. Varrick had gotten to the heart of the issue adequately enough. The South felt like the needed to protect their way of life from an invading force. A repeat of history if Raava had ever seen one. One that the world couldn't afford right now. Unalaq did have a point when he said that the world would probably turn to chaos if this situation turned into a fully fledged war. Only for a far different reason than Raava believed. She did not think that the spirits would go on a rampage just because the Water Tribe was engulfed in a civil war. No, this would actually be more of a distraction from what was really important.

Harmonic Convergence was on the horizon. Raava could feel it and she didn't know how this one would play out. This was the first time she had been joined with an Avatar from the very beginning. Korra had advantages that Wan did not. She was much more versed in the different elements than he had been from sheer experience. She had their past lives to call upon for guidance. However, what she did not have was a way to conveniently speak with her at any given moment. Raava and Wan had the closest connection of any Avatar. It was to be expected in retrospect. There was nothing to interfere and get between them at the time. He was the first Avatar and would always have the most powerful connection with her. She wondered if she should have prepared better for this. There was really no way she would have expected that her direct connection with the Avatar would weaken in time and through lives as she lived with them. Now, though, she knew this. She had known for hundreds of years that she had long since lost the ability to communicate with her living partners. Raava felt she should have addressed this much sooner. Should have spent more time and energy into finding a way to somehow get her Avatars to understand the gravity of Harmonic Convergence. The information should have been passed down in retrospect. Never mind the fact that it sounded more like a legend to them then an actual phenomenon, one that was dangerous to everyone's way of life.

Korra would lose control of this situation. It was inevitable, Raava felt. Not for a lack of trying, definitely, but Korra was fighting against someone who purposely exacerbating the issue. Battling years of issues and problems that predated her life by far. It was truly a shame that Korra was unable to see her mother's wisdom in her advice. Korra was sadly much too concerned with being as great an Avatar as she could that she couldn't trust the people she should. Her uncle was conveniently stroking her ego in a way that was exactly to his advantage. Korra's parents, Tenzin and even Mako were struggling to help her to the right path. One that was not easy and did not have a clear answer and so Korra thought they were wrong. Unalaq was lying through his teeth, but he did have a clear and concise plan. More than what Korra's true allies had and that was rather unfortunate. Unalaq was apparently very good at manipulation. He was definitely trying to cut Korra off from people that could actually help her.

And that was a shame. Especially in the case of Korra's parents. Raava knew that being the family of the Avatar was not easy. She has seen this many times before, but Senna and Tonraq were trying their hardest to support Korra. This was the reason Raava really wasn't _that_ upset with Tonraq over his decision to stick Korra in the compound. It was ultimately not his fault that the leader of the White Lotus was a short-sighted fool. She knew that it was difficult, to say the least, to adapt to the fact the Avatar was part of one's family. Raava had certainly seen much, _much_ worse reactions than this. Korra's parents genuinely cared for her, they wanted to be a _family_ with her. And Korra did not seem to realize this. At least not in this moment, with her uncle whispering lies and half-truths in her ear. She was so concerned in being the Avatar, that she failed to realize that she was also _Korra,_ and that there were other people that needed to be thought of as well. These people cared about _Korra,_ and while Korra would forever be the Avatar, that did not mean they should be callously disregarded in favor of duty. Friends and family were so important to the Avatar's mission. They were constantly underrated and taken for granted. They were what helped the Avatar deal with their _humanity_ and the struggles that came with that. Many, many people thought the Avatar was meant to be all knowing, invincible and 'other' to them. Korra was none of these things. No Avatar was. They had limits, trials and doubts just as all humans did and they needed support just as everyone did to get past them.

Yet, Korra believed she needed to get past her problems on her own. It was truly frustrating and probably the result of being raised in an overly controlling environment where she never got to make her own decisions. She was coddled and overly protected and didn't feel trusted. And somehow Unalaq had picked right up on those insecurities. Making out that her father and Tenzin didn't trust her still to make her own decisions. Perhaps there was a bit of truth to that, though. Tonraq had always had difficulty with seeing Korra as the Avatar. She was first and foremost his daughter in his eyes and he didn't really want to let go of that image. Something he would have to get past eventually if he wanted to remain close to Korra. Was this not the source of their current rift? Of course, Unalaq was exacerbating the issue, but the fact remained that there was a real reason behind Korra's anger with her father and Tenzin.

If there was one good thing that has come out of the increasing tensions between the North and the South, it was that Tonraq's decision to stay uninvolved actually helped repair most of the rift that had opened between him and Korra. Perhaps it was because she had finally realized that her father was not as bad as her uncle was manipulating her to believe. Raava didn't think that Korra actually consciously thought her father was a bad person, but Raava could see that was the desired goal. And it was truly despicable. It was a very good thing that Tonraq had seen the wisdom against letting his brother teach Korra before.

Still, the man had the gall to arrest Korra's parents. Which was oddly convenient. A nice way to get the two out of the way and Korra was frustratingly not putting two and two together. Didn't she realize how suspicious it was that Unalaq wanted her to say neutral in this conflict to begin with? That he didn't want her to think about taking the side of her countrymen so that he could win the conflict in his favor? The Avatar has taken sides many times throughout history. Humans unfortunately could be swayed with darkness and they had a knack of unbalancing the world. It was the Avatar's duty that no human gained too much power, the chief of the Water Tribes launching an aggressive civil war fit this bill rather well. Did it strike no one else oddly that the victim of the crime got to appoint the judge for the trial? Why not the Council of Elders? Raava often felt that humans were trapped by the limits of their societies at times. There was certain to be some kind of law that allowed this odd drift from logic.

And that worried her. Korra was in the court house right now, Unalaq had arrested her parents earlier this morning and their trial was to be convened that very day. This was certain to be a plot to get Tonraq separated from Korra at the very least. She didn't know why he was going after Senna too, Korra would not take a guilty verdict well in the _slightest_ if both of her parents were found guilty of a crime they didn't commit. Her friend was quick tempered after all, and Unalaq seemed to forget that Korra had power of her own and that he would be hard pressed to contain it if he made her too angry.

Korra was angry enough as it was. Her friends had found her here, they had heard about what happened somehow and they all came to be of what ever aid they could. Which was unfortunately not much, but both Raava and Korra appreciated the support.

“Korra, what happened?” Mako asked as they waited in the foyer for the trial to begin.

“Unalaq thinks my parents are behind the attack, I tried to tell him that they had nothing to do with this, but he wouldn't listen to me,” Korra said bitterly.

“Man, that's rough. I wonder if he's doing this because he doesn't like your dad. I mean, we know they don't exactly get along and- oof!” Bolin coughed after Asami elbowed him.

“Is there anything you can do? What does the Water Tribe do in these kinds of trials?” Asami asked.

Korra shrugged. “I'm not completely sure. The White Lotus didn't spend too much time on this in class. I think there's just a judge that has to hear all the evidence. Unalaq told me he's appointed the most fair judge that he knows.”

Her friends all exchanged uneasy looks and Raava wondered if they knew something Korra did not. Or if they suspected the same as she did. That Unalaq probably couldn't be as trusted as Korra wanted to believe. Or perhaps a bit of both.

Korra was too preoccupied to really notice, though. Raava thought her friend could be rather oblivious at times. It was a trait that probably contributed to the ease in which she could be manipulated by men like Tarrlok and Unalaq. She was too unversed in the world of politics and too trusting. Locking someone away from the world did not make it easy for that person to spot the ways in which humans could lie to each other.

“So, he thinks that your parents will be treated fairly?” Asami asked uneasily.

“Well, yeah. I don't think Unalaq would set them up. He's trying to prevent a war! And I don't think he and my dad hate each other _that_ much. My dad already told me that he would never have joined the rebels because he didn't want to actually hurt Unalaq,” Korra protested.

“But, _why_ does he think your parents are behind the attack?” Asami pressed as the boys watched uncomfortably. Raava wondered if Korra's friends had noticed how unwilling she had become to listening to criticism leveled at Unalaq.

“Well, they did host some meetings at their house. I mean, I thought my dad joined the rebels too! Unalaq is probably only trying to treat all the suspected rebels the same. I was the one that convinced him to hold a trial to begin with. I told him it would probably help calm things down,” Korra said as she rubbed her arm. “He probably arrested them to begin with because I gave him this idea….”

“Whoa,” Mako piped up. “I don't think that's true.”

“Yeah, Korra. If you even had to tell Unalaq that there needed a trial then that's already on him,” Asami said forcefully. “There's no way this is your fault.”

“Everything's gonna be fine, I bet,” Bolin beamed. “The judge can't find somebody guilty of a crime they weren't even there for! Besides, if something bad happens, then Team Avatar's got your back.”

“Bolin's right,” Mako said as he put his hand on Korra's shoulder. “We're all here for you. And everything is going to be okay.”

“I hope so. I just have a bad feeling about everything,” Korra said glumly. Raava did too, but she hoped that Korra would soon realize that there was truth in her feelings. She had to have some inkling that all was not right in the world right now. Harmonic Convergence was soon at hand. If Korra did feel like nothing was amiss, then that would probably spell disaster. That and the fact that the girl simply _had_ to notice that her uncle's actions were far from noble _eventually._ Hopefully this was a sign of that revelation to come.

She also hoped that her friends were right. Korra did not need the stress of her parents thrown in prison. Or worse. Korra seemed not to realize that the rebels and her father could be executed for the charge of treason. Was that Unalaq's plan? If it was, then the man was even more despicable than Raava originally thought. Death would certainly ensure that Tonraq could never be a voice of reason for Korra again. Unalaq would finally get what he wanted, the Avatar's ear and his family would be the last that Korra had, with the exception of Tenzin's. Though, then the man could very well have a plan for Tenzin as well. This was getting darker by the hour and it was leaving Raava at a loss at how to proceed. If the worst came to pass, Raava hoped that her brash friend would act just as fiery as Raava knew she could. She really liked Korra's parents and the Avatar was not above losing their temper at their friends and family when gross acts of injustice were committed. Roku certainly had the right reaction when he had learned of Sozin's invasion of the Earth Kingdom. It was too bad that he had not been able to live up to his promise in the end, though. _Neutrality._ No, if things kept going in this, quite frankly, dreadful direction, the Avatar simply couldn't stand to stay neutral for much longer. It wasn't in Korra's nature, first of all, and secondly, Raava was getting very tired of watching this farce of balance and light parade around. It needed to be rectified.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was a bit of a wait for this chapter, I know. My job gets rather hellish around holidays, unfortunately. At any rate, this chapter was really inspired by a lot of things that happened in this episode. There were a lot of politics to wade through first of all. The civil war between the Water Tribes could have been a lot more interesting in my opinion. Unalaq could have been much more interesting if he was kept as a completely separate villain from Vaatu and their only connection could have been Unalaq *accidentally* freeing the spirit in his misguided attempts to bring balance to the South. He could have totally been an over ambitious leader overlooking the scars the SWT suffered in the Hundred Year War while trying to 'help' the South become more like the North despite the fact that the South doesn't really want to be like the NWT. He could have gone hungry with power while doing this and then tragically consumed by Vaatu before Korra could help him realize that he's unbalancing the Water Tribes with this war. He was family to her. She didn't want to believe the worst of him like Tonraq does. That totally could have been better used by NOT making Unalaq a pretentious little fuck that goes absolutely and completely bonkers with his character arc jumping the shark in order to CONSCIOUSLY AND WILLINGLY help Vaatu take over the whole fucking world and destroy human civilization. I mean, shit dude. That's not balance, is it?
> 
> But I have to keep this fic canon-compliant to follow the rules I set for myself.... Perhaps this would be better explored in EoL....
> 
> And we also get the implication that Korra still has not moved past her own insecurities from Book 1 when she tells Senna that all she's ever wanted was to become the best Avatar that she could. So, that has to be addressed and that's the more fun part of this story and Korra's whole character arc. The missing scene part of this chapter was admittedly short, but I wanted it here because I figured that there isn't enough of the entire Team Avatar in Book 2 with Asami getting forgotten all the time and I feel like they really would have been there for Korra and her family.


End file.
